


Burn of the Phoenix

by Kira_Dattei



Series: The Deva Chronicles Universe [6]
Category: Spartacus Series (TV), Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, American Sign Language, Blind Stiles Stilinski, Canonical BAMF Characters, Canonical Character Death, Developing Relationship, Don't Have to Know Canon, Established Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, M/M, Magic, Mute Nasir, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-11-16
Packaged: 2020-07-09 05:41:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 108,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19882564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kira_Dattei/pseuds/Kira_Dattei
Summary: Core: a kernel of power that grants the person it awakens within abilities.Oni: people who use the abilities they gain from their cores to harm others.Devas: an organization of people who fight the Oni and protect civilians.Agron works with his brother to fight Oni and is content with that being his life. A request for assistance in handling an Oni threat has been sent from the Devas and Agron and Duro answer it just like they would any other assignment. It isn't long before he realizes this isn't like other assignments as they face off against some of the strongest cures they've ever encountered, both in enemies as well as in their allies. The Oni are presenting a new level of danger to the world and those protecting people against them, like Agron, Duro, and the ones they meet while working this assignment, need to step up their side of he equation or they'll be killed and then no one will be there to protect against the Oni.You don't need to have read the other fics in the Deva Chronicles Universe series to understand what's going on.Teen Wolf characters join the story at the very end of Chapter 9 and then remain involved for the remainder of the fic.





	1. Streets

**Author's Note:**

> Hi Spartacus fandom!  
> It has been so long since I've posted anything here despite how much I continue to love it here. (I sort of wrote myself into a huge corner I haven't worked my way out of for the Differing Words series). But I've been working on this AU world for a few years now, completely intent on it including my all-time favorite OTP of Nagron and I'm very excited to have gotten to the point where I could write their first story in the world.  
> So, a few things before we start to get out of the way quickly:  
> \- You don't need to have read the other fics already posted to understand what's going on. While this is connected to a larger story and does reference events of other fics in the series, I give enough details within this story as they are learned so that you don't need to read the others. I'm not going to discourage reading the other fics because they're awesome ^_^ but I know them being in other fandoms, some quite small, that I understand if that's not your thing. That's why I've tried my best to keep each story as self-contained as possible even with the grand shared plot.  
> \- The Teen Wolf characters show up in Chapter 10 through the end of the fic. They will be prominent characters to the story but will not take the focus from Sparty guys.  
> \- There's a glossary for you to reference in the end A/N.  
> That's it and I really hope you enjoy. Thank you for reading.

“You’re sure this is the right place?” Naevia asked Spartacus, casting another dubious glance over her shoulder at the small clutch of grimy people watching the two of them pass either with suspicion or apathy.

“If the tip is accurate. No way to know for sure unless we find the target,” he replied absently, scanning all the faces, trying to match someone to the description they’d been given.

While it wasn’t outside the realm of possibilities for him to be given assignments like this – ones of purely investigating leads or checking into calls made to the Devas about potential Oni – it wasn’t his usual. He was usually brought in to deal with confirmed Oni when there was a high likelihood of conflict. While this was more up Naevia’s alley, with her being more capable of conveying kindness and be unthreatening, he’d been given lead instead of her. So, if they did find the guy, it was on Spartacus to make the initial conversation and decide if he wanted Naevia to handle it after he started things.

Luckily, Spartacus was completely aware that both he and Naevia were completely capable of handling this whether it was just talking or if it came to blows because the person they were looking for was an Oni.

The report they’d gotten stated that someone had been spotted in the area for a while that had suspicious markings and they claimed there had been an increase in strange activity in the area since he’d been noticed. Spartacus suspected any activity in the area was just because of the part of town they were in and had nothing to do with one specific person, user or not. And there were so few dispositions that used markings of any kind but that didn’t mean everyone knew that. Most people just knew that it was a possibility. No matter how long cores had been a known factor of life, a part of humanity, there was still plenty of people who chose ignorance when it came to cores and users.

So, he was spending his day looking over the faces of the homeless people in this part of the city because very few in the general population knew as much as they probably should about cores.

It was depressing and difficult for Spartacus to really tolerate witnessing, seeing so many people in need when there really should be something that could be done for them.

“All that we’re capable of and helping people keep a roof over the heads of civilians that need help isn’t one of them,” he muttered in irritation, getting a curious glance from Naevia.

Then she looked thoughtful as she took another cursory glance around the closest clutch of huddling people. “That can be someone else’s crusade. We’re busy enough keeping them from being wiped out by people who decide to use ‘all that were capable of’ to wipe out people like this. There’s plenty wrong with the world, Spartacus. Pick the battles you want to focus on and let others better equipped handle the ones not well suited to you.”

Never let it be said that Naevia wasn’t completely in touch with reality. Considering who she usually had to keep in line, it wasn’t a surprise.

Ten minutes later when they were reaching the end of the last alley in the radius they’d been given, Spartacus decided there was no harm in asking around. He approached a pair of middle-aged men leaning against a building next to piles of random items.

Without hesitating, Spartacus reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, grabbing two twenties, and then walked the last bit to stand a few feet away from them and then kneeled down on the concrete in front of them, doing all he could to seem unthreatening. He knew he was a naturally intimidating person: he was tall, well-muscled, had the posture and demeanor of an authority figure, and was armed. And he saw the caution in their expressions.

“Hey, how’s it going?” he asked smoothly. “Just got a question for you guys. This is yours for the trouble.” He held out one bill in each hand, extended out toward the men. They didn’t move and just continued staring at him and he just continued giving them a kind look. After about a minute of silence, Spartacus just set the money on the ground and sat back, allowing them a bit more distance.

“What?” the man on the left said shortly, still on guard but seeming to at least be amenable to hearing Spartacus’ question.

“My name is Spartacus. I’m looking for someone who might be in the area and I wondered if you might have seen him. He’s late teens, a bit on the shorter side, black hair, dark eyes, and has some pretty distinct markings on his left shoulder and arm down to his elbow.” Spartacus had more specific details but thought that it would be best to keep things general, felt that maybe that would make it seem less aggressive, less like they were hunting down someone dangerous.

There was still hesitation and suspicion from the other man and Spartacus didn’t quite know how he could counter it.

“You a cop?” the man who hadn’t spoken prior asked.

“No,” he replied honestly. “I was just asked by someone who knew him if I could check if he was in the area.” A much more blatant stretching of the truth but Spartacus wasn’t terrible at lying so that didn’t matter too much.

“That kid makes the rounds here. Shows up every few months, sticks around for about a week, then disappears again,” the first man answered with a slight shrug.

“Is he still around here now?”

“He’s holed up two blocks that way, down an alley on the other side of the street.” The man pointed north, an area Spartacus and Naevia had already searched but Spartacus was willing to accept that they’d missed him instead of automatically assuming they were just being given an easy answer to get rid of them.

“Thanks,” he said as he stood upright and passed Naevia toward where they’d indicated. He heard Naevia fall in step behind him, practically feeling her displeasure toward him.

“You’re really just going to take the word of the first people you ask?” she asked, sounding incredulous.

“The first people we took the word of were the ones who gave the lead and are the reason we’re even here. Why is their word any different?”

“And if he isn’t there? Did you bring enough cash to buy an answer out of everyone here?”

Spartacus laughed then. “Just how much do you think we get paid? I can only do that about two more times. Then I’m left eating out of the cafeteria for the rest of the week.”

He heard Naevia give a soft laugh after a few seconds of silence and figured that was all the opposition she’d give him. After all, she was a genuinely kind person who just had a lot of experience with the world to make her careful, not someone who had a serious problem with him taking the word of some homeless men after giving them money.

He was careful, too, experienced and wary, but he also liked to believe the best in people. He quickly accepted when he got the worst but it was only after they proved they didn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt.

They made another sweep of the area, checking every corner and enclave that looked like someone might be huddled away in down each street and alley in the direction the man had indicated. It was a warmer day but that didn’t always mean people would come out and give up their spot. And Spartacus did have to repeat the same questioning with one older woman, who just seemed happy to have someone to talk to and he spent a few minutes listening to stories before she pointed them further back and told them to look as far away from any people as possible. She told them that the one they were looking for didn’t like being around anyone and always picked spots that made him most likely to be ignored.

It turned out they’d passed him three times he’d been huddled back so far. But when they approached there wasn’t a hint of fear in his eyes as he looked right at them. In fact, Spartacus felt like he was being threatened, warned about approaching any further, and he actually believed he would be attacked if he didn’t listen.

But he and Naevia had been the ones chosen to check this lead out because they had a habit and record of being ones people connected with when others had failed. Even with Spartacus not really doing this sort of assignment often anymore, it was still something he had a reputation for accomplishing.

So, Spartacus got just a little closer than he felt others had dared, dark brown eyes following his movements carefully. Naevia had kept her distance, just in case Spartacus’ boundary-pushing approach failed miserably, leaning casually against the building they were tucked up close beside. And once she’d settled into place, the boy ignored her to focus completely on Spartacus. That was just as well since Naevia was well within range to be of help if Spartacus needed it.

Once more, Spartacus lowered himself to the ground, sitting all the way instead of stopping on a knee. He was a tall guy and this kid – teenager, really, even though the look in his eyes made him seem older – was on the small side, both in a manner from malnutrition as well as just being naturally short.

“My name’s Spartacus. I was asked to come meet with you, learn a little more about you,” he began. Dark eyes remained cautious and there wasn’t even a change in the boy’s even expression, no curiosity or anger, nothing to indicate how he felt about Spartacus suddenly showing up besides how much he still didn’t want him there. “You see, I’m a Deva and it’s my role with the organization to make sure people are safe, even if that means you are the one that might be in danger because people don’t understand what they’re seeing.” There was the slightest hint of a change in expression but it passed too quickly for Spartacus to really catch what it was. He’d been lucky to even notice it with how subtle it was.

This boy was good at controlling his expressions, better than many Devas and User Enforcement Agency agents Spartacus knew. That was impressive on its own.

“So, we were contacted because someone saw some tattoos on your arm and didn’t know what they meant exactly, only that they resembled markings used to interact with cores, and they told us we should make sure it wasn’t anything dangerous. There aren’t many people who actually know what they’re looking at when it comes to those kinds of markings though. They just know that users can use certain types of designs being tattooed to affect cores, boost power in many cases, but they don’t have the details to notice what they see for what it is. Furthermore, for someone to actually use those markings correctly nowadays is rare. It’s become more of a superstition to most considering how much more we now know about cores and how the markings actually affected the person they were placed on. Unnatural augmentation of cores is very dangerous. Pretty much the only people regularly willing to do that sort of thing nowadays are Oni and it even looks like they’re cutting back recently.”

Spartacus was rambling a little but it was because he’d seen the boy becoming less cautious of him, the warning in his eyes fading ever so slightly the more Spartacus spoke of what he understood about what he was investigating.

Spartacus’ knowledge of cores and dispositions was average for a Deva but he had spent plenty of time researching older methods of Oni just so someone knew about it. And, like he’d said, there were still those Oni who used those older tactics and that had become Spartacus’ specialty, what he was called in most often to deal with.

“I always found it strange that any tattoos made any difference to cores. I mean, cores are either powered by a heartbeat or the electric impulses of brain activity with the really rare ones taking the kinetic energy of flowing throughout the body so it always struck me as odd that anything just put on the skin would make any sort of difference. And it’s not like everyone is a Glyph where the way their power materializes is through their specific symbols that someone actually managed to figure out.”

The kid was continuing to relax his guard more and more as Spartacus didn’t stop and almost pulled things to a completely different subject.

“That’s the power the mind has, I guess. Believe in something strongly enough and it might as well be real. And people used to believe a lot more blindly, especially when it came to cores. There used to be so much more we just didn’t understand. There’s still plenty we don’t know, but we’re learning.

“That’s ultimately why I’m here, you know: to learn. I didn’t come here assuming I was going to be dealing with some Oni just because someone said that’s what it was about. I just want to make sure you’re okay and not in any danger or a danger to anyone else. That’s what my job is and I wouldn’t mind being able to do it.”

He still wasn’t demanding anything of the kid and bringing the focus back to why he was there didn’t even make his guard rise back up. Sure, he hadn’t completely relaxed but Spartacus hadn’t lost progress there.

And Spartacus just let the unspoken request hang between them, letting the kid make the next move. He wasn’t in a hurry, after all. He had all day to wrap this up. And if he didn’t finish today, he had tomorrow.

Seven minutes later the kid actually rolled his eyes and started pulling off his jacket that seemed to be a few sizes too big for him and Spartacus had to hold back any show of victory. He had honestly been starting to think that he wouldn’t win against this kid in a test of patience.

Though it might not have been a matter of patience here, he realized and accepted.

The kid was rolling up a the sleeve of his loose shirt to expose his left arm up to halfway up his bicep where the sleeve got too tight to pull up any higher. But it was enough since Spartacus could see the lines of a tattoo marking up the length of his arm from about halfway up his forearm.

He recognized the pattern alright.

“May I come a little closer?” he asked, needing to check how the lines of the tattoo intersected to confirm the effects of this particular mark.

There was only a few seconds before the kid gave a shrug of his left shoulder and nodded.

Spartacus shifted to his knees and slid across the concrete to get a few feet closer to really look at the lines, picking apart the meaning he’d learned to understand.

This was definitely old, one of the oldest he’d seen. And he was honestly lucky he’d made sure to learn everything he could about this aspect of cores because he’d never actually seen one of this type in person. This was the opposite of what he’d always dealt with, accomplishing something not many users went for when it came to these kinds of core-affecting tattoos.

His eyes lifted and he made eye contact with the kid, who seemed to know that he understood what he was seeing. He pulled at his sleeve to let it fall back into place and then slid his jacket back on and Spartacus looked over to Naevia, who gave him a curious look.

“Well, we definitely have nothing to worry about with this one,” Spartacus declared, shaking off his curiosity for the moment as to why the kid would go to this extreme. “It’s a seal, not an amplifier. Complete blocking of any connection between his core and his body and mind. And based on how old the tattoo looks, I’m guessing it’s been in place for quite a few years.” He looked back over to the kid, who still didn’t seem inclined to reveal anything through his expression. Spartacus figured it wouldn’t hurt to give one more detail to help the kid not seem so rude, maybe help him drop his guard a little more. “This particular seal had the side effect of affecting more than the core and tends to have physiological effects. Seems for him it cut him off from his vocal cords. He _can’t_ speak.” He’d been responding too reliably to sound and it was obvious he could see.

“What?” Naevia asked, sounding surprised as the kid gave another shrug but it was the same motion as when Spartacus had asked to approach.

“These old markings usually came with consequences and our understanding of sealing cores is something that’s come a long way over time. And many of the dispositions we know can seal now that we use just weren’t known to have that ability or it was a matter of no communication to get someone soon enough who could perform a seal. So these manner of seals were made so Oni could be dealt with without having to look far and wide. They used to use branding irons and not all designs are this intricate. There are some aspects of his mark that are purely decoration, likely to cover it up. Either way, because we didn’t really understand cores when these were designed, they tended to have more adverse effects on the user, like making people blind, deaf, mute, causing illness, or even immobility.”

“Easy to see that getting abused,” Naevia remarked.

“They only work on people with a core so that gave some measure of protection against some misuse. But, yes, they were often overused until the Devas set guidelines in place for their use. Nowadays, putting a seal like this on someone can land the one who placed it in jail.”

The kid looked entirely unconcerned about it and Spartacus immediately understood that this wasn’t something done against his will. It had been the kid’s choice to be sealed with this particular method. Which begged the question of why when there were plenty of official processes for civilians to have a core sealed.

Unless he hadn’t wanted to go through anything official to keep any records being made about his core or disposition. After all, every core sealed was documented thoroughly and records maintained of yearly follow-ups with the user to maintain the seal or remove it. Seals offered to civilians weren’t allowed to be permanent; another thing that could land the person placing the seal in big trouble if they violated that law.

From what Spartacus could pick up about the details of the marking the kid had, it was permanent. He’d need a better look to know for sure, but he was pretty sure this was meant to last.

What disposition was this kid hiding under that seal?

Unfortunately, that was something that only the kid would be able to answer. The seal wouldn’t allow anyone to even see the existence of the core, let alone figure out the disposition.

Spartacus stood and turned toward Naevia and declared with a dismissive tone, “Well, that’s investigation closed. No Oni here. Thanks for your time, kid.”

Spartacus walked past Naevia, the woman hesitating before she followed him. Spartacus made sure he didn’t turn around, just continued walking like there was nothing left there that held his interest while also hoping that he wasn’t over-selling the point and still making the kid more suspicious.

“What are you doing?” Naevia asked once they were out of sight. “You know that’s not going to be enough for our report.”

“This is a long game and I need that to be understood. He’s not a danger and that should be enough for now.”

Naevia gave him a suspicious look. “Just how much of a ‘long game’ are you looking at?”

“As long as it takes for him to understand that he can trust me. He’s hiding, using the homeless as a cover, and I want to give him a better hiding place.”

“That’s a hell of a stretch considering he never said anything. Besides, I’m pretty sure all of a dozen people even knows he exists. That sounds like an effective enough hiding place.”

“Those seals are dangerous to the one they’re on, Naevia. All it takes is a threat to his life that makes the core want to defend itself and the effects it has on his body can become so much worse than just rendering him mute. Besides, I feel like this is the right thing to do, that I’m supposed to look after this kid. So that’s what I’m going to do.”

“’This kid’ who still looks like he wants to stab you?”

“Hey, I’ve been stabbed before. I can take it.”

Naevia shook her head, obviously settling for accepting Spartacus’ intentions even if she didn’t agree with them or understand them. It wouldn’t be the first time as she’d known Spartacus for quite a few years now.

So, Spartacus went back the next day to start earning the kid’s trust. And the next day as well. And the following day after that.

It took him four months of daily visits to the kid for him to finally get to the point where he felt like he was genuinely trusted. He figured the kid telling him his name was a good indicator of no longer being doubted.

* * *

“I hate this part,” Agron muttered.

“Ah, yes, the part where our job makes us talk to the people we report to,” Duro replied easily with a grin. It was a familiar exchange between the two, variations happening every few times they got a new assignment and had to talk to the Paladins in command of them to get the details of the assignment.

Agron had never heard anything in these that he couldn’t have just read in the assignment packet.

“Everything they tell us can be given in a fucking email.”

“But they you’d complain about having to fucking read. At least this way, your shitty attitude gets shared with others,” Agron gave him a glare for that tease but Duro ignored him.

Agron would admit he was mostly just in a bad mood if Duro called him out on it. They’d been working for practically the last few weeks straight with only enough of a break between assignments to sleep in their own beds for a night and then they were back at it. Even Agron, who really didn’t pay attention to this sort of detail, understood that the Oni were becoming more aggressive, becoming more likely to fight back when they were caught instead of accepting their cores being sealed most of the time like Agron had gotten used to in his early years working as an active Paladin for the Protection of the Paladins Organization.

And any implications that could be taken from that, from Oni fighting back more, weren’t things that looked good for anyone opposing them.

He liked being a Paladin, taking down Oni, but no one wanted the people who earned that title by hurting others to get worse and harder to handle.

Duro backhanded him on the arm absently to get his attention and he looked up to see they were being waved in. They stood and walked toward the door, stepping aside as the one who’d been in there before them, a familiar Valkyrie they’d worked with plenty of times before and were good friends with, Saxa, walked out, the three giving quick nods of greeting before Duro and Agron entered the rom and the door closed behind them.

Most of the reason Agron wasn’t appreciative of this part of the process for assignments was because he didn’t like or respect any of the Paladins and Valkyrie that he took assignments from. Yes, he knew that no one got the position easily, that they were all required to have an exceptional history of their own completed assignments, needed to have impeccable control and there could be no question of their abilities and strength as a user. But part of being put at a desk meant they didn’t really have the chance to show anyone that they really did deserve their position. And, unlike the Devas, there wasn’t a guaranteed rotation of those in authority so once someone got that spot, they weren’t required to give it up. Agron wasn’t a fan of that. But considering it was about the only thing he didn’t like about the Protection of the Paladins Organization, he could stick it out instead of worrying about going through the application process for the Devas or the User Enforcement Agency. He got what he wanted of just taking Oni down where he was and there would be no guarantee that he’d be any happier with superiors anywhere else.

And even though Agron didn’t actually know all of them – including the one they were meeting with today – there was enough communication between them that they all knew of him at least. They knew to generally keep it short where they could and always keep Duro around to handle most of it. They knew better than to assign the brothers separately. It’s not like that would be guaranteed elsewhere either. They would likely be split up for the sake of efficiency and better utilizing strength.

Agron knew that he was simply best off where he was and Duro had so far indicated that he was happy doing what they were doing.

The two stepped up to the desk and sat in the chairs positioned there as the Paladin finished up whatever he was typing, likely the last touches on the report he’d gotten from Saxa since Agron knew she had just come off an assignment. And Agron had to say that the guy looked tense, frowning in concentration as well as his body language just screaming that something was bothering him. And Agron wasn’t even really all that great at reading body language of people he didn’t care about so it had to be serious.

Oh well, if he needed to know, he’d be told. He’d never been one for pointless curiosity.

“Paladin Agron Rasch and Valkyrie Duro Rasch, right?” the man asked even as he continued typing.

“Yes, sir,” Duro responded for the two of them.

“Barca said you guys just came off an assignment and have been going for a while straight but we’re on a skeleton crew right now. Anyway, this assignment should be a little more long-term than you’re used to so you should be able to get a bit of a break in while working it.” The man spoke absently and didn’t even spare the two of them a look. “But because it’s long-term, you can be given most of the details we have and still turn it down as long as you haven’t signed onto the contract.”

The P.P.O. assignments were officially contracts, unlike the Devas and U.E.A. which worked completely independently. They were legal documents that gave an outline of the assignment parameters which were drawn up by a representative of the organization. Those parameters were usually decided by the law enforcement agency that sent the request for help. The P.P.O. didn’t do anything without someone asking them to and therefore directing their actions.

Agron gave a dismissive shrug and replied with, “We’re not too picky on assignments and don’t have much else to do with our time.” This was what they did full-time after all.

The man glanced over to him and then went back to his computer screen. “How long has it been since you worked with Devas?”

Agron and Duro exchanged a curious look; that usually wasn’t said in a way that might be taken as encouragement to turn down an assignment. None of the organizations that worked to counter the Oni were in competition with each other and all worked together pretty closely, maintaining good working relationships regardless of the differences between how they were run.

“I guess it’s been about six months and it was down in Florida.”

The man gave an acknowledging hum and turned to grab a folder off the top of a stack to his left. “Good, they use a lot of consultants down there so you’re familiar with the program.” He slid the file across the desk and Duro reached out to grab it. “We got a request for support from a Deva Master about a group of Oni he’s working to track down and secure. He’s been working it for the last few months and feels like he needs some straight-up strength to back him up. Apparently the only other person they’ve had working it with him is a consultant, though one that’s been working within that division and with that Master for about five years now. There isn't much to the file we got but it should be enough to make a decision off of so we didn’t bother them for more.”

Duro opened the file and looked it over quickly, Agron letting him do so and trusting that his brother would make the call they’d both agree on. But as he’d said, they weren’t really picky about who and what they dealt with for assignments. And it had been a while since they were able to take a longer assignment, which could be downright relaxing.

Duro closed the file soon enough and gave the answer of, “We’ll take it. But I do have a quick question.” The man gave another distracted sound for Duro to continue. “This guy is a Master with the Devas so why is he still working assignments? They have Seniors for the day-to-day running of assignments fordivisions and be the experienced ones to be taking the tougher assignments. Masters take care of the big picture and overlook the full operation of the divisions, making sure they stay balanced and keep running efficiently.”

The guy gave a one-sided shrug. “Masters don’t have to stop taking assignments if they don’t want to. Most just stop because they’re kept busy enough running the divisions. But these guys being around a denser population, they have more Masters around and actually rotate through them taking assignments to help deal with the higher amount of assignments they get overall. There’s been quite a few Prominents selected from that area and the guy that put in this request is actually looking promising to get selected for one of those spots once he’s eligible.”

At least that was a pretty good indicator of the kind of man and Deva this guy was: Prominents, the ones who were in charge of all Devas and the organization itself, were all voted in by other Devas and there really weren’t any politics to the process. They were usually voted for based on their record as a Deva and if people thought they would be what was needed to keep progress consistent. There were twenty Prominents total, with two voted in every year while the two that had been in the longest at that time were cycled out of the position, and they weren’t allowed to return to the position again. It wasn’t actually a bad setup, Agron thought, and likely why the Devas had remained recognized as the strongest organization in countering the Oni for so long.

“Well, if you don’t have any more questions, have a safe trip. Please abide by the requirements for checking in with updates every forty-eight to fifty-two hours.”

“We will,” Duro promised before Agron could snap back with something sarcastic. His younger brother stood and smacked Agron on the arm so he followed. “Thank you, sir. We look forward to another successful assignment.”

The two left the room without another word and Duro passed the folder over to Agron so he could look it over. He opened it and scanned through the information provided on the Oni they were searching for.

“He wasn’t joking: there really isn’t much here to go on,” Agron commented. “Estimated half dozen targets left and they guy has already taken out eight. They know the Oni are all working together, reflecting the trend we’ve been noticing over the past two years of an increase in them teaming up. But because they haven’t brought in anyone that can tell dispositions, they keep having to figure it out as they go and that keeps losing him fights.”

“He’s a Deva. Not knowing the dispositions shouldn’t mean he loses,” Duro replied and Agron shrugged. The file didn’t include any information on the Deva that had put in the request so there was no telling what his limitations were as far as disposition went.

“Being a Deva also doesn’t mean he should automatically win. They’re human just like the rest of us and no amount of training changes that.”

Agron had met plenty of Devas in his time working for the P.P.O. and he’d never met one he thought couldn’t lose a fight. Duro hadn’t worked with as many and he tended to be a bit more optimistic than Agron in general.

“Anyway, it might be worth noting that none of the Oni connected to this case have actually been apprehended,” Duro continued, surprisingly keeping them on track. “All of them have needed to be killed with how violently they fought back. Dispositions reported there include Berserker, Nova, Aura, and a few Dragons of varying elements. That’s a lot of raw power to fight against.”

Agron had been looking over that list and he nodded agreement. All of those dispositions were dangerous to face off against, no matter what disposition you had. And this one Deva along with one consultant helping out in some capacity had managed that much on his own. So, while he was still just a human, he either had a lot of skill to back him up or he was about the luckiest fucker in the Deva’s employ.

“It’s been a good while since we had something like this come our way. Might as well make the most of it,” Agron declared as he shut the file and handed it back to Duro with a grin, which was returned from his brother.

“Twenty bucks says they offer us a job when we’re done.”

“That’s as worth my fucking time as that meeting was,” Agron shot back with a laugh.


	2. Impression

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agron and Duro meet the two they'll be working with...

The brothers were at least able to wait until the next morning to leave, able to spend the night at their own place and pack up what they’d need for an estimated week or two that it would likely take to wrap up the assignment they were to assist on. Then it was on a plane for a relatively short flight and then heading toward the Deva division that had been set up barely outside the New York City limits closer to the state line between New York and Pennsylvania. The division covered part of the city and the two states even as there were other divisions in the area that covered the city as well.

Agron couldn’t help but compare and contrast his relative freedom in working with the Protection of the Paladins Organization, not being bound to a specific division or jurisdiction. He and Duro went where there was an assignment, nothing more. On the other hand, both the Devas and the User Enforcement Agency, while both operating under the same name and a single leadership for the respective organizations, had been known to fall into competition between divisions, mostly friendly but not always.

Agron shouldered his duffel as he approached the reception desk with Duro following a step behind. The man working at the desk looked up at them and moved to stand to greet them, Agron reached under the collar of his shirt and pulled out the chain holding the pendant that identified him as a Paladin actively working with the P.P.O. and held it up so it could be clearly seen. He saw the man’s demeanor change slightly, indicating that he’d recognized the pendant and Agron dropped it back under his shirt.

“How can I help you today, sir?” the man asked politely.

“Paladin and Valkyrie Rasch, here to meet with Master Spartacus Arios,” he responded, indicating back to Duro when he’d identified him.

“And you are here on official business from the Protection of the Paladins Organization?” he asked and Agron would have been irate about it if he wasn’t used to getting questioned like this when it came to meeting with a Deva. Many of them were sticklers about checking people out when they came to visit them at their offices.

“Yeah, it’s an official request.”

“I will call up to Master Arios and let him know you are here. Feel free to take a seat while you wait for your escort to arrive.” Because, of course, if you weren’t a Deva you didn’t go anywhere in their building without an escort. It was actually a commonality between all three organizations - the Devas, the U.E.A., and the P.P.O.

“Right,” Agron replied and he turned toward Duro but didn’t move toward any of the chairs lining the wall across from the desk. It was mostly a matter of him not wanting to sit after the flight and drive here and Duro grinned over at him.

“Look at you, talking civilly with someone besides me. They grow up so fast,” Duro joked as soon as the receptionist was talking on the phone.

Agron glared at his little brother. “Give me a break, Duro.”

“And why would I do that?”

“Because I can still kick your ass whenever I want.”

Duro faked looking thoughtful and Agron crossed his arms, looking as intimidating as possible even as he wasn’t serious. “Fair point. But your memory’s for shit so you’re more likely to forget that I earned a beating.”

“It’s not _that_ bad.”

“Nah, maybe not. We’ll see.” Duro turned and headed toward one of the chairs and sat down, dropping his duffel to the floor next to his leg as he reclined back to relax and Agron followed just to not have to talk across the room.

“You find anything else on the Oni this guy has been dealing with?”

Sometimes signing onto a contract gave them a bit more access to Oni files kept by the Devas and Duro had been checking while they were on the flight over. It depended on how much support they were providing and whether the Devas actually had any more information to release.

“No, there wasn’t anything else. I was able to get access to the full reports of the Oni that Spartacus has already dealt with.”

“And?”

“All things considered, they were clean fights. From what I can tell, Spartacus gave them all plenty of opportunities to surrender and take a seal but none of them went for it and he had to kill them.”

Agron frowned at that. It may have basically been what they knew already but to have it confirmed by the official reports made it a bit more real of what they would be doing in helping out on this assignment. It wasn’t like they’d never had to kill an Oni before, but they made a point of never getting completely comfortable with killing. Their dad had been insistent on passing that lesson along to them, the man a Paladin as well that they had followed the example of.

“There’s plenty of Devas that never have to kill in their entire careers against Oni. And he’s already got a list.”

Duro shrugged. “They said he’s likely to get the place of a Prominent as soon as he hits twenty years as a Deva and is eligible. It may not be any sort of requirement but a majority of the Prominents leading now never actually had to kill anyone. It’s something else, something that changes a person and everyone knows that.”

Agron gave a short nod, trusting that Duro knew what he was talking about; Duro kept up with shit like that better than Agron did. Knowing details about the current Prominents just didn’t matter enough to Agron to look for the information.

“Get an idea of his disposition from the reports?” Agron asked, figuring he might as well see if anything really useful was gained from Duro’s reading.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence even though you know I’m not all that great about dispositions. I know enough to get by until I’ve fought one, just like you. We might as well just wait until we’re talking to him and just ask.”

Agron smirked. “And miss out on the chance to go into our first meeting knowing something he’s not expecting us to know? Come on, Duro, you’re losing your touch to miss that.”

Duro rolled his eyes with a grin and his eyes glanced past Agron and he moved to stand as Agron turned to look toward the door off to the right of the receptionist desk that led into the building. It was swinging open to reveal a man that definitely seemed like he should be a Deva.

He was almost Agron’s height, his hair kept a little longer than a military cut, and a build that just screamed strength. He didn’t have the same bulk as Agron did, but he was still muscular, healthily so. This guy could probably match the hit of a Paladin or Valkyrie even without the help of a core.

But then his expression and his eyes gave off a different impression. They didn’t make Agron think he was any less capable of taking someone out, just that he had a kindness to him that wasn’t as common to see in a Deva Master, someone who had faced off against Oni for a minimum of ten years. And he looked like he was only a few years older than Agron, in his late twenties so he likely joined the Devas right after finishing high school if not a little before and took advantage of the Devas offering to include basic education for those who joined before completing school.

He walked up to Agron as Duro stood up and stepped up next to his brother. “I’m Spartacus Arios, one of the Masters stationed here. Thank you for coming so quickly after I put in the request,” the man introduced, his tone smooth and confident and matching the authoritative presence he had.

“I’m Agron Rasch, a Paladin, and this is my brother Duro Rasch, a Valkyrie.” Agron shook the man’s hand and then Duro did the same. “Time is usually a factor when it comes to giving out assignments.”

“I was simply expecting another few days to have someone available to take on a contract with no pre-determined end date. I’m aware they tend to be more difficult to fill.”

It may not seem like much but the guy was showing that he did have a good handle on how the P.P.O. operated. That was really encouraging. Agron had been on a few assignments where he and Duro were basically treated like convenient muscle to have on call when their dispositions made them much more than that.

After all, there was a reason the Paladins and, by extension, Valkyries had a completely different organization to train and coordinate them.

“I’d like to get you debriefed on all the information we have first and get you settled so we can start strong tomorrow.”

It was early afternoon. That sounded like a waste of time, though Agron might just have been used to getting things done as soon as he arrived for an assignment. “Tomorrow?” Agron settled on asking.

Spartacus gave him a slight smile. “Like I said, I was expecting a few more days and was already planning to meet with someone tomorrow that might be able to give us some insight on what we’re dealing with. I was going to base my next move on what I learned then.”

That made enough sense for Agron to accept with a nod. He’d admit that he wasn’t the best there was at actually strategizing itself. He could see the point of a strategy and follow it but was still working on being the one to actually formulate anything that wasn’t on the fly in the heat of the moment.

Spartacus turned away then, heading back toward the door he’d come through and the brothers followed behind. He pulled an ID card out of his pocket and scanned it over a sensor to unlock the door and swung it open and waited for Agron and Duro to pass him before closing the door behind him and checking to ensure that it latched. He then stepped back into the lead to guide the two through very dull hallways that had no displayed room numbers or signs to indicate the layout of the building, which was pretty standard for a Deva facility. They stayed on the same floor and after a few turns, Spartacus scanned his ID to unlock another door, leading them into the room this time.

It was a small conference room and there was already someone there.

He was young. If he was even out of his teen years, it wasn’t by much. He was also reasonably short, just below average height though he was fit enough, at least from what Agron could tell from the somewhat loose shirt and jeans he was wearing. His skin was a few shades darker than the other three, obviously naturally so and not just a matter of being outside more often. His black hair was pulled back into a ponytail just above the crown of his head so it likely fell to around his shoulders when loose, and his eyes were also a dark brown.

This guy was intense, Agron concluded. He was the smallest person in the room by a fair margin and yet it didn’t make him seem any less like he could be as much of a threat as any of them. And when Agron tried to determine what exactly it was that made him seem that way, he figured it was in his eyes. Some of it was in how he carried himself, back straight and chin lifted almost like he was challenging them, but the eyes were really where it was.

He made quite the contrast to Spartacus.

“This is Talyn. He’s a consultant I work with and he’s been involved with tracking these Oni down since the assignment was given to me,” Spartacus introduced, then turned to Talyn. “From the P.P.O., Agron and Duro Rasch.”

Talyn turned back toward them and gave a brief nod of acknowledgement but that was it. He just held out a file to Spartacus and then stepped to the opposite wall, almost like he was putting as much space between them as he could, and then just stood there watching them.

Spartacus didn’t seem bothered by Talyn’s behavior though, just opened the folder to glance at the contents before he set it on the table still open for Duro and Agron to look at.

“I know I already gave details on the Oni we’ve handled and it probably isn’t as much as you’re used to having, but we’ve been working off very little with this. The best we can figure is that there’s someone taking command of Oni in the area and we think they’re trying to weaken the Deva and U.E.A. presence for all nearby divisions. There have been three Devas and seven U.E.A. agents killed in the area before I was given the case and since then there haven’t been any more deaths on our end, we believe because of their shift in focus needing to be on fighting me.”

Agron and Duro exchanged a surprised look. “That’s a lot of ground for any Oni to gain against those organizations,” Duro commented. And it had been a long time since any Oni had gotten that many kills under them, even if it was multiple Oni working together.

“Yes, it is. Many of the deaths have been from carrying out simple investigations, then being overpowered and killed before they really know what they’re dealing with. Both organizations were becoming too wary of checking out any reports because they were afraid of losing more people. We’re talking talented users, experienced Devas and agents and they were still killed. So, they brought the assignment to me without really knowing what they were giving me. My record is strong for being able to bring more difficult assignments through to resolution and so they put me on it and I’ve at least been able to keep anyone else from dying.”

“We weren’t able to get access to your profile,” Agron stated, trying to not make it sound like an accusation but he wasn’t sure he pulled it off.

Spartacus waved his hand dismissively. “That’s simply because I’m ranked as a Master. Only other Masters and Prominents are allowed access. They’re usually the only ones who need to see. What did you need to know?”

“Your disposition for starters. We need to know what we’re supporting.”

“Of course. I’m a Wendigo.”

Considering Agron didn’t know what that really meant as far as abilities went – and a quick glance at Duro told him his brother was also in the dark – he figured it was likely on the rarer side of the spectrum.

“And that means?”

Spartacus actually chuckled at that. “It’s a cardiac centered disposition that allows me to augment my own strength, reflexes, and stamina by draining the energy from other people’s cores. And I’ve put in a lot of time training aside from how much experience I have from assignments in my time as a Deva and I’ve managed to give other Paladins and Valkyries a challenge.”

Paladins were considered the best warriors that could be had because of how their cores increased not only their physical attributes like their strength and stamina, but their fighting instincts were also enhanced. They didn’t necessarily need to spend months or years training with a weapon to be proficient in using it or spend hundreds of hours sparring to be able to learn how to read an attack. It was just instinct that was enhanced because of their core. Valkyries were only considered weaker because that fighting instinct wasn’t as strong. They were still a force to be reckoned with, but very few could stand on equal ground to a Paladin.

And while there were other dispositions that could allow the user to match the strength or speed of a Paladin, it usually came down to a matter of how well they could fight. If they were talented enough, they could be just as good and Agron believed Spartacus to be one of those. What little they knew of his record was enough to prove that.

If he was as skilled of a fighter as Agron was starting to think he was, it was possible that Spartacus could beat him in a fight. Agron may be a Paladin, but he wasn’t nearly as experienced and that would likely be the determining factor.

Paladins did still have to learn how to trust in their enhanced instincts blindly and Agron was still working on that part.

Agron turned toward Talyn. “What about you? I assume since you’ve been involved all along that you’re going to continue to help out considering you’re here.”

Instead of Talyn answering, Spartacus replied, “He’s a combatant, yes, but he isn’t a user.”

There was a shocked silence for a few seconds before Duro asked, “That’s allowed?”

It was certainly the first Agron had ever heard of someone without a core being hired as a consultant that was expected to fight against Oni. Sure, there were times when they reached out to local law enforcement for an investigation, but they tended to try and keep those more vulnerable to people with cores, i.e. anyone without one, far away from where they could be hurt.

Spartacus chuckled a bit at their reaction. “I’ve been working with Talyn for quite a few years now. I trained him to handle himself in a fight and he’s better than a good percent of our Initiate and Adept ranked Devas. And him not being a user has proven to be beneficial. Oni are used to dealing with users and it’s thrown them to be dealing with someone without a core long enough to drop their guard and that’s all Talyn needs.”

Agron crossed his arms, suddenly angry. “We aren’t babysitters.”

There was movement from Talyn, the suddenness of it catching Agron’s attention and he tensed in preparation for a fight, but when he looked over to the other man, it was obvious he’d stopped himself before actually going through with approaching him. He’d glanced over toward Spartacus and when Agron looked toward the man as well, his hands were moving in quick gestures that Agron wondered if he recognized but dismissed it.

“Well, that’s good, because I didn’t ask for a babysitter.” Spartacus looked amused then and added, “I’m not sure I would even look to the P.P.O. for that, anyway; it seems like it would be outside their area of expertise.” He got serious again. “Talyn can handle himself. Actually, while we’re in the field, he’ll be working completely independently and his actions are supported by the Devas.”

That was a lot of freedom for just a consultant to have because the Devas never gave up responsibility of a consultant working with them. Either Talyn had worked up quite a resumé in his time or Spartacus was pulling some strings as a Master. Hadn’t he said that Talyn worked with him? Agron had dismissed it before but what if he’d literally meant that Talyn worked just with him? They certainly seemed familiar with each other in a way that said they worked together a lot.

“He’ll stay out of your way. Just try and be aware of when it’s him jumping into a fight and not another enemy. He’s good at avoiding friendly fire, but he’s never worked with a Paladin before. It’ll take him a little bit of watching how you move to figure out the timing of your speed so he can keep clear.”

Agron went to reply, to demand more about this regular human that could apparently keep pace with users, but Duro spoke first, “We’ll be cautious of him. If you think he can handle himself fine, then who are we to argue?”

Agron just felt like no matter what Spartacus said, he’d be needing to get this kid out of some shitshow of trouble. That’s just always how shit like this ended up.

“The contract said you thought there were six Oni left?” Duro continued on smoothly, not giving Agron a chance to object any further and Agron figured they’d be arguing about this later. “After taking eight out, why ask for support now?”

“Some of the ones remaining have already been involved with fights we’ve had and have managed to get away before we were able to even get close to them. We don’t believe they’ve seen enough of us to identify us if we passed on the street based on how those conflicts have played out and how Talyn and I were dressed to conceal our features but we need to consider it a possibility. Either way, we have lost the element of surprise. Also, I’m pretty sure the ones we’ve taken out have been their weaker users. In our last fight, we were pursuing them but in order to escape, they managed to injure both Talyn and I and we both decided it was time to make some changes to our approach. But all our first choices for Devas to pull in are already on assignment and they can’t just leave their current work. If they finish, we will bring them in as well and bolster the strength we have as much as possible to finish this, but until then we still need to remain active against these Oni. We figure as long as they are focused on countering us, they won’t be able to target anymore Devas or agents to kill.”

“If you know so little about the Oni, how did you figure out their numbers?” Agron challenged. It wasn’t so much that he felt like he needed to pick a fight here but there were parts of this that didn’t really meet the norm of what people knew about a situation with Oni, especially one that had resulted in so much death already. And people got defensive when they were questioned, especially if they thought they shouldn’t be, and when they got defensive they got more likely to let things slip.

“It’s only an estimated number but Talyn was able to follow one about two weeks ago and that’s what he counted. They’re using a local gym as, we believe, a meeting place but he wasn’t able to get in close enough to tell if that was all it was or if there’s closer involvement from other members or staff from the gym. And when I asked to investigate it, I was turned down because the lead wasn’t solid enough. Talyn has been trying to get closer ever since but he hasn’t worked out how yet while not being noticed or drawing unnecessary attention to himself.”

“He could probably just walk in with a group of average sized guys and no one would see him,” Agron ended up saying in a tease before he could even think to catch himself. He wasn’t usually cruel to people he didn’t know but Talyn was unsettling and this was apparently how he was going to deal with it.

Anyway, he thought it was worth it for the dark look he received from Talyn. Thinking about it a bit more, he’d gotten nothing but the impression that Talyn didn’t like him so why should he care? Just because he had to work with the guy didn’t mean he had to be best buddies with him. It wasn’t like he was going to be relying on Talyn’s and his ordinary human fighting skills anytime soon.

Spartacus, however, didn’t seem to know if he should look amused or irritated, settling on letting out a sigh and shaking his head. “Let’s not rely on that. And he didn’t get more because he doesn’t want to take the chance that he be approached and anyone have something to remember his from.”

Agron looked back over to Talyn, whose expression had flattened back out to give nothing away, not even when he made eye contact with Agron.

Agron thought that while it was likely that this man would probably blend into a crowd easily enough, especially if he was trying, it was just as likely that if Agron noticed him, he would remember him. There was just something about him that stuck out in his mind and it was more than that Agron found him reasonably attractive.

At least when he wasn’t being an asshole.

Talyn playing this on the safe side as he obviously was might actually not be a bad idea. Or he was playing it safe and they were losing time because of it. With as little information as they had, it was hard to know which was really the case here.

“I’ll get you the descriptions we have but that’s it until tomorrow,” Spartacus concluded.

It really wasn’t much but what could they do? Spartacus couldn’t give them what he didn’t have.

But Agron couldn’t shake the feeling that the Deva had played things a bit too safe and wondered if him having a regular human around, if only for it making him on the cautious side to make sure the guy didn’t get hurt, was the reason for that. The Devas were usually more careful about things like that, about making sure their resources weren’t wasted.

After all, the Devas were working off a shortage of manpower as it was. They couldn’t afford to be worse off.

Duro reached past Agron and grabbed the file off the table. “You mind if I take a closer look at this?” he asked.

“Not at all. Go ahead and hang onto it. Let me know if you find anything and if needed I’ll give you access to anything we have. Did you guys work out where you were going to stay while here?”

“Nah, we wanted to meet with you first and figure out where would be best from here,” Duro answered distractedly as he was already engrossed in the information the file contained. He wasn’t any sort of genius but he was better at remembering information than Agron. Agron tended not to really retain little details until after they were proven to be important.

“I have a spare room. Pretty good sized so you two can share it and not be tripping over each other. Not to mention the convenience of all being in the same place and not worrying about timing meeting up.”

Duro glanced up to Agron. “We wouldn’t have to worry about billing a room to the organization either. Less paperwork.”

Agron had already been planning to agree so that being pointed out only gave a bonus incentive. “Sure, sounds great. Is it just you?”

“No, I’m married,” Spartacus replied, making Agron glance down at his left hand to see if he’d just missed seeing a ring but there wasn’t one. Seeing the look, Spartacus chuckled, “I don’t wear my ring when I’m on the clock. Most Devas don’t as a means of protecting their families.”

“Any kids?” Now Agron was just curious and felt like it was a good time to ask. He wasn’t good with kids so he figured it would be best to have a heads-up for how uncomfortable he was going to be for the duration of his stay, even if it would be in as small of spurts as he could get away with.

Spartacus looked amused, more than Agron thought the question warranted, and glanced over to the corner where Talyn still lurked. “Sometimes it feels like it, but no.”

Agron caught Talyn crossing his arms out of the corner of his eyes and looked over to catch the end of a glare before it was suppressed and his expression went blank.

Wait, did that mean…

“So, it’s just you and your wife living there, then?” he asked in a more roundabout way than he would have usually gone with but he did have to work with these two so it wouldn’t hurt to give his rarely used tact a try.

“No, Talyn lives there as well. Don’t worry, he keeps to himself and we’ll allow you your privacy when we aren’t working.”

“It’s not a problem. It’s been a while since we spent any length of time around anyone outside of work. It’ll be a nice change and Agron could always use reminders of what human interaction is all about,” Duro said before Agron could say anything.

He turned a dirty look to his traitorous little brother, who simply ignored him by keeping his eyes on the file though he was smirking much more obviously than Agron thought he should be allowed to get away with.

As Spartacus and Duro went off talking about the house they were staying at and Spartacus’ wife and what she did, Agron took one more look toward Talyn and wondered if he would have preferred Spartacus had kids.


	3. Their Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In familiarizing himself with where they'd be staying, Agron learns more about Talyn that may change his impression around completely...

“You’re being unreasonable, even for you,” Duro accused, going for a direct approach that Agron pretty much only allowed from his brother. No one else that got to know Agron enough to be familiar with his short temper and penchant for showing his displeasure with a fist to somewhere sensitive bothered to tempt said temper.

Not that Agron really minded; he didn’t see the value in having a crowd of people around. He had his brother and a few people that he’d call friends and he hadn’t felt like he’d needed more than that in years. He appreciated being a simple person like that.

But that hardly meant that he appreciated one of those few people he trusted implicitly saying he was basically wrong for being like that. At least that’s what he was taking from what Duro said.

“How so?” he decided to check before he got too pissed.

He was grateful that Spartacus lived about twenty minutes away from the Deva division and they’d rented a car to use while there. They were taking advantage of the privacy while they followed Spartacus in his car.

“People have been fighting, many even with quite a bit of skill, long before cores even existed.”

“Yeah, but after cores existed it was intelligently deemed a stupid idea for ordinary people to go around picking fights with users. And, sure, not all cores give boosts to strength like ours do, but that doesn’t make it any less of an unbalanced fight.”

“Not even a majority of cores do that, Agron. Stop being obtuse just to make your point sound more valid. We’ve seen people effectively fight against users without the help of a core plenty of times.”

“And they’ve always been users. You know as well as I do that a core simply existing in someone’s body improves general health and the body functions better.”

“And humans on the whole have a better understanding of what it means to be healthy now than they did a few hundred years ago. Comparing people now to people when cores first became a thing is a pointless argument and you know it. So, try getting your head out of your ass and accept that maybe you don’t know best this time around. Hell, you might actually have to rely on a regular human at some point through this assignment.”

“If it comes down to that, I deserve to die for the level of embarrassment I’d be to all Paladins.”

“No disposition guarantees victory every time, Agron. You were the one to hammer that into me.”

Agron let out a sigh and rubbed his hands over his face as they waited at a stop light. “Look, Duro, the guy is just unsettling. It feels dangerous to be around him. I don’t feel like that around everyone, you know.”

“Yeah, well, it’s been a while since you saw a decent looking guy. Maybe your brain just forgot what it was like to feel attraction to someone and you’re associating the only assumption you have by thinking he can’t be trusted.”

Agron shouldn’t have been surprised that Duro knew that Agron had at least found Talyn attractive. His brother had seen the few failures at relationships Agron had been through and had a good handle on what he liked.

“Hardly,” he muttered anyway.

Duro let out a groan of frustration and crossed his arms. “Fine, then enlighten me as to what could possibly have you on edge about someone who not only has been cleared to work with the Devas for years now, who don’t exactly have easy application processes, even for mere consultants, but has earned the trust of the organization enough that he can act on his own instead of being required to be accompanied by a Deva at all times like most of them. And you obviously don’t have a problem with Spartacus, who trusts the guy implicitly or he wouldn’t let him live with him and his wife. Tell me what it is about Talyn that has you watching him like you would an Oni.”

Agron threw his hands up as much as he could in the limited space of the car driver seat. “Fuck if I know. You know, we don’t always know why we feel a certain way. We just get to feel that way and figure it out as we go. Maybe it was how he just skulked in the corner while Spartacus handled everything that Talyn supposedly was the one to figure out. I know they aren’t the P.P.O. but it’s always been pretty across the board of our type of organizations for the person who did the work to give the report so nothing gets fucked up.”

There was a short pause before Duro exclaimed with, “That’s it?”

“You asked!” Agron shot back.

“Yeah, but I expected at least some sense to have been involved with why you decided to not trust someone that really gave us no reason to distrust him. Fuck, I was joking about the whole good-looking thing throwing you but it’s looking like the best explanation.”

Agron scratched his hand through his short hair in his frustration. “Something just doesn’t add up. Spartacus spent so much time singing his praises but what’s holding them back is that they don’t want attention on Talyn even though he’s supposedly the one to have gotten them quite a bit of the knowledge they’re working from. And all that fuss about him not wanting to bring attention to himself just sounds like some bullshit line.”

“I don’t know, he got your attention just fine by just standing in the corner.”

Agron decided to ignore that one. “He can give me a reason to trust him. Then I will. But until that happens, I’m not leaving him to chance. The assignment came from Spartacus and that’s who I’ll take lead from.”

“Well, that’s good because they never said otherwise. He was ever so clear that Talyn acts on his own and if he relies on a lapse in focus to get the upper hand in a fight then I’ll bet he’ll be using us as cover for anything he does.”

“I figured as much.”

“Then make sure you aren’t the reason he takes friendly fire. _That_ would make you an embarrassment to Paladins everywhere with as much of your disposition exists to protect others, no matter how much you love the fight.”

Spartacus turned into a driveway, Agron following the turn and pulling up off to the side of the other car so that he wasn’t blocking the garage door, assuming that the man’s wife had a car inside. The house was a decent size, though Agron knew that the Devas had reasonable arrangements for housing those active with them since they didn’t really get paid much. Though it was possible that the house was from Spartacus’ wife’s work but he didn’t know what she did for a living. He knew it had to be at least a three bedroom but it didn’t look like it was cramped inside which would be good with five adults working around each other. They were in a cul-de-sac but the houses had a reasonable amount of space between them.

“We haven’t been in a place with this much room in a long time,” Duro commented and Agron nodded as he opened the door, then opened the back door to grab his duffel, Duro doing the same on the other side of the car. Spartacus and Talyn were already walking up toward the front door and they took long strides to catch up.

Spartacus unlocked the door and walked inside, opening the door wide for the others to follow. “Come on in. I let Sura know that you were staying with us and so she took the dog for a walk so she could get some energy out.”

It had been a long time since they’d been around a dog, too. “What kind of dog?” Duro asked conversationally, closing the door as he stepped into the house. Spartacus and Talyn had already walked a little further into the entry hall so there was room for them to move, Talyn reaching down to untie his shoes and slide them off, sliding them out of the way before he walked down the hall a short distance and turned right out of sight.

“German Shepard. Her name’s Roma and she’s only just over two years old so she’s still got that puppy energy. You don’t need to take off your shoes if you don’t want. Talyn just doesn’t like wearing shoes if he doesn’t have to.” He must have caught how the brothers had hesitated and hazarded a guess as to why. “I’ll show you around and you can drop your bags in your room before Sura gets back.”

Spartacus started with the second floor, leading them up the stairs just off to the left of the front door, their room at the end of the hall on the left with the bathroom directly across from their room. Talyn’s room was next to the bathroom, and Spartacus and Sura’s master bedroom was on the left closest to the stairs. He led them back downstairs, indicating past them further to the left of the front door where Spartacus had an office so he could work from home and across from it had been another bedroom that Sura had claimed for an office of her own. On the other side of the house was a living room with an open floor between it, a dining area, and the kitchen at the far end with only an island to partition it off. And apparently half of the garage had been turned into a workout area and had plenty of equipment they were given free rein to use if they wanted.

It really was a nice home. And that’s exactly what it was: a home. It had been a long time since he and Duro had been invited into a home and he’d genuinely forgotten how comforting it was to be in one. After all, he and Duro just had an apartment. They didn’t spend nearly enough time there for it to be anything but a place they happened to sleep at.

Talyn was sitting on a stool at the island, eating while he read something but Agron couldn’t tell what it was from across the room. It seemed like Spartacus hadn’t been joking when he’d said Talyn kept to himself.

“It’s a nice place,” Duro complimented, catching Agron’s attention.

“We’ve been here since shortly after I advanced to Senior rank. As strong as the Deva presence is in these states, they get a little bit better offers than where there isn’t such high activity. Sura does pretty well in her position at the university but it is a relief to have the help. Talyn moved in with us about three years ago and that helped it feel a little more worth the size, a little more lived in.” Spartacus finished with a smile.

He really was a kind man, Agron noted.

The front door opened and closed and Agron heard the pattering of paws go from the large doormat in front of the door to the hardwood that covered the rest of the floor. Spartacus stepped past Agron, who was standing closer to the threshold between the hall and the living room and bent over to greet the dog that jogged into the room. The dog immediately got more excited when she saw him and her tail wagged swiftly as she licked his hand a few times before he scratched at her head in greeting. The dog was a standard size for a German Shepard at probably around seventy pounds and her shoulders were even with Spartacus’ knees, and her coloring was completely black. After a few seconds of attention from Spartacus, her attention turned toward the two strangers standing past her owner.

This definitely wasn’t a guard dog as her tail started wagging even faster and she bounded past Spartacus toward the new people. Spartacus managed to grab her collar and she came up on her back legs as she strained to reach them.

Duro laughed before he stepped a little closer so he could extend his hand, offering Roma the back of his hand to sniff, which she did excitedly before licking at her new friend. She settled down enough to let her front paws drop to the floor and Spartacus let go of her collar and she stepped in close enough to start sniffing at Duro’s legs before she moved to do the same to Agron.

Figuring that it was best to let the dog get her curiosity about their scents out of the way on her own, Agron looked up toward the woman that had stepped into view and had given Spartacus a quick kiss before turning toward their guests.

She was a beautiful woman, sun-darkened skin, long black hair, light brown eyes, strong features, and she really reminded Agron of Spartacus as far as him getting the impression that she was a kind person but not someone to fuck with.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Sura, Spartacus’ wife,” she introduced and extended her hand to be shook.

Duro, being closer, reached out in response first as he replied, “I’m Duro. This is my brother, Agron.” Agron reached out as well to shake her hand, having to bend at the waist to extend over Roma who was still standing right in front of him sniffing at his ankles. “Thanks for letting us stay here. We’ve been mostly in hotels for the past few months and this makes for a great change.”

“You’re with the Protection of the Paladins, right?” she asked.

“Yup, work directly for the organization taking assignments.”

“I’m glad you’re here, helping Spartacus.” She gave her husband a fond look before her smile turned teasing. “I told him weeks ago that he needed more eyes on this but he had to wait until a trip to the Regen for healing up some injuries before he listened to me.”

While Sura had been speaking, Roma had purposefully bumped into the back of Agron’s leg and he turned toward her, reaching down to scratch at her head before the dog seemed content with being acknowledged and then seemed to finally spot Talyn at the island because she jogged over to him. She rested her snout on his leg and he absently rested his hand on her head to pet her. She stayed like that, her tail swishing back and forth rhythmically.

So Talyn could at least be nice to a dog, Agron thought harshly.

“Well, while you’re staying here, feel free to get comfortable. I know you guys have a difficult job and I’d like you to be able to relax when you can. Help yourself to anything. I figured I’d order out for dinner tonight.”

“Even Sura knows better than to subject you to her cooking on the first night here,” Spartacus said and Duro burst out laughing, Agron barely managing to keep from grinning himself at the unexpected jibe Spartacus had taken.

Sura, for her part, just gave her husband a fake smile and said, “Oh, then you’re volunteering to cook while they’re here? That’s so considerate.”

Agron barely caught motion out of the corner of his eyes and had tensed in preparation to fight out of habit before he saw Spartacus catch a tennis ball. Agron looked over toward Talyn just as Roma ran past him after the ball. The young man was looking toward the couple with his arms crossed. Agron looked back toward them as well as Sura grinned.

“Yeah, I guess that would be something no one deserves, let alone people that are just here to help,” she declared and Agron frowned a little at how it seemed like he’d missed Talyn saying something for her to respond to. But then she leaned in to give Spartacus another kiss on the cheek and the moment passed. “I’ll put in the order in about an hour. I’ve got some things for work to finish up first.”

Spartacus gave the ball a gentle toss toward the hall for Roma to chase as he nodded and turned back toward the brothers. “If you want to give me a hand, we have a spare mattress down in the basement. If one of you want to move the bed in your room to one side and the other help me look through the mess I have down there, we can get you all set.”

Duro slapped Agron on the shoulder before walking toward the stairs. “I claim the bed already up there so I’ll go move it.”

Agron rolled his eyes and smirked at his brother. “Right, because you just want everyone to know you can’t rough it.”

“Call it what you want!” Duro called back to him.

Spartacus smiled at their interaction and glanced over toward Talyn. “Can you keep Roma up here so we don’t have to trip over her?” he requested. Talyn looked up and nodded.

Instead of calling the dog, he knocked twice on the surface of the island then reached down and knocked twice more against the seat of the stool. Roma jogged around the corner and headed straight for Talyn, looking happy and attentive and expectant as she trotted up to him. Talyn pointed to the floor right next to him and Roma laid down, then looked back up to him. He closed his hand to a fist and held it in front of her and after a second, Roma shifted to the side, getting into a more comfortable position and then started mouthing at the ball she still held in her mouth.

Agron had a sudden thought at the display, a thought that potentially changed the impression he’d gotten from Talyn.

Spartacus turned back toward the hall and walked to a door at the end opposite of the front door and opened it before Agron caught up and followed behind as they descended into the basement.

Spartacus was right: it was a mess, the years of collecting items obvious.

The two men started looking around boxes for the mattress in silence for about a minute before Agron had to break it. He figured it would be easiest to just ask Spartacus anyway.

“About Talyn, does he not talk?” he asked, avoiding blurting out his thought from earlier any less blunt.

Spartacus looked over to him, seeming surprised, then embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I thought it was in the details I included in the contract.”

“We didn’t receive anything about him except that a consultant was involved.”

“I should have guessed. The Devas don’t like releasing information about consultants, not even to other organizations. It's a matter of protection for them. I just don’t actually make requests very often and this is the first time I have with an assignment Talyn was active with and I forgot. Anyway, no he doesn’t talk. He can’t.”

How the fuck had Talyn gotten anywhere as a consultant? What did he bring to the Devas? What did he have to offer them?

“He can’t?” Agron pressed.

“No, he’s mute.”

“How does that work while you’re in the field?”

Spartacus actually laughed then. “He can type just fine. When he’s working I wear a display connected to a keypad he has on him. He’s not allowed to work without it and its also connected back to the Deva office with someone monitoring it along with his vitals in case something goes wrong with my display. The rest of the time he uses sign language. Of course Sura and I know it as well and there are a few people at the division who have learned so they can talk with him easier. He prefers sign language.” The last part was added seemingly absently as Spartacus turned back to the task at hand.

“Isn’t that dangerous? What if something happens to him while he’s working for the Devas? He couldn’t communicate it for back-up.” Agron knew part of that was coming from his protective instincts as a Paladin kicking in. The rest was coming from how he was struggling to put his finger on what made this kid worth the Devas keeping on hand.

“We have safeguards in place to help ensure his protection, just like we have for any consultant. He’s never needed them, though.” Spartacus looked over toward Agron and observed him for a moment. “I understand your concerns. I’ve been defending his worth for years and I’ve heard every argument there is against him being here. There are plenty of people that have seen what he’s capable of and still say he doesn’t belong in a fight against an Oni. They still let things like ignorant preconceived notions be their deciding factor. But he’s the one I have watching my back because I trust him to do it. He’s never let me down even as he gets let down all the time.

“I see what kind of man you are, Paladin or not. You’re honest, direct, and realistic. I hope you’re also fair and that you at least give him a chance to prove himself. I believe once he shows you what he can offer to anyone who lets him you’ll disregard any objections.”

Agron crossed his arms and held Spartacus’ intense gaze, seeing nothing but blatant honesty there. This guy really did believe everything he was saying about Talyn. And Agron couldn’t dismiss that this was a Master ranked Deva he was talking to. Idiots just didn’t make it to that rank. And all Devas were trained with a heaping dose of reality with a side of pessimism. They saw the worst that people had to offer the world, fought it, and then tried to make what was left a better place. The consultants they hired had to share in those values to pass the psych evaluation.

Nobody became associated with the Devas officially merely off of a favor. It just didn’t happen. They might get in the door through that but then they had to pass muster all on their own.

“Right,” Agron settled on saying.

Spartacus nodded but then looked thoughtful. “Though on a personal note, don’t get upset with him if he doesn’t seem to like you, if he seems like he’s ignoring you or only gives you dirty looks.”

“What?” Agron couldn’t help but ask as he frowned in confusion. Now Spartacus was warning him about the same guy he was singing the praises of less than a minute ago?

Spartacus shrugged as he went back to working his way toward the far wall, the mess opening up quite a bit the further back he went. “He just doesn’t like people. He tolerates who he has to but that’s about it. And considering how much work it is for him to communicate with others, everyone else having the easier end of that, he just doesn’t bother if he doesn’t have to. But don’t let him fool you: he’s always listening. And people tend to assume that mute equals idiot and that’s their mistake.”

Agron couldn’t help but smirk. “Experience?”

Spartacus chuckled in response. “Not in the least but I see it all the time even when I give this rundown of warnings. I have never underestimated him, not even the first time I met him; it’s why he trusts me.”

Agron thought about that as he followed Spartacus, the man having caught sight of the corner of the mattress they were searching for and they started clearing out enough space to get it out and to the door. As a Paladin, people always automatically assumed he was capable of great things. And, as a Paladin, he was pretty much always able to deliver. But that was because he was a Paladin.

As a man…well, that wasn’t so cut-and-dry. Duro got on him all the time because of his less-than-ideal character traits. But there weren’t many people that saw him as anything more than a Paladin and that was on purpose on his part.

Agron failed; Paladin Rasch didn’t.

But the point was that Talyn didn’t get any of that. The amount of high expectations Agron received was essentially equivalent to the lack thereof that Talyn got. He was expected to fail. He was expected to be stupid. He was expected to be useless.

Even from Agron.

He was starting to feel pretty shitty about his assumptions. Sure, he hadn’t known what Talyn’s situation was, but he’d still looked at pretty shallow factors and based his entire opinion – a very negative one – around that.

Well, he was going to be here for a while. What if he just…tried?

* * *

Agron and Duro had gotten settled in their room and Agron had relayed what Spartacus had told him about Talyn by the time dinner arrived and they went back downstairs to eat. They all sat around the table and conversed comfortably, Agron happy that they all seemed to get along easily.

Granted, it was likely that Agron himself was the one present most likely to give any difficulty in getting along with. Duro was more easy-going than he was, after all, and he was much more sociable. Spartacus and Sura both appeared to have a wide variety of life experience and they seemed to genuinely want to learn more about others. They were both obviously upstanding people who weren’t egotistical about it.

And with what Spartacus had told Agron about Talyn, he was picking up on things the young man did that he hadn’t been noticing before. As much as Talyn controlled his expression, it wasn’t like he didn’t show any emotion. Or at least what made it through didn’t last long and Agron knew that if he hadn’t been watching closer for indications of what Spartacus had said, he would have missed it. But Talyn was proving to be attentive with at least some measure of a sense of humor and while he mostly kept his gaze lowered, his eyes were pretty much always actively taking in his surroundings. Agron wouldn’t be surprised if he and Duro were being observed just as closely as he was observing Talyn, if not a little less obviously.

Duro had been talking with Sura about her job at the university – she was some sort of academic advisor, apparently – about an hour after they’d finished eating when they were interrupted. Roma had been laying down behind Spartacus’ chair while they’d eaten but she suddenly stood up with a stretch and a shake before she began a slow trot around the table, taking turns looking up at each person before moving on to the next.

Spartacus laughed at his dog’s suddenly demanding behavior before explaining, “This is usually around the time that she gets her walk.” He’d started to move to stand but Talyn beat him to it, pushing his chair in once he was clear. “Are you sure?” Talyn’s hands moved around in what Agron assumed to be sign language and seeing it now and knowing what it was helped Agron realize that motions he’d seen earlier from Spartacus and Talyn had been sign language. He was pretty sure he’d seen some here and there throughout dinner as well but couldn’t be completely sure when he didn’t know exactly what it all looked like. “Yeah, good point.” Spartacus replied, his hands also moving as he spoke and Agron wondered if he’d signed what he said or if they were two messages.

Talyn walked behind Agron and Duro toward the door, Roma trotting behind him, right on his heels as she looked up at him excitedly. He grabbed his shoes and the leash from the coat closet next to the door before turning back to Roma. He held his palm out toward Roma’s nose and her ears perked forward toward him in attention. He waved his fingers together toward her and she sat down and he secured the leash on her collar before leading the way outside, the door closing behind him.

“We’re still working on her listening to his commands when she’s outside. She gets really excited around other people and animals and tends to forget to pay attention to him,” Sura explained smoothly and the brothers nodded.

“What’d he say?” Agron asked, curious.

“He said she has to get it right sometime and that it might go better since she already walked once recently,” Spartacus translated.

Duro grinned and said, “It didn’t look like he said that much.”

“Sign language is pretty efficient that way. It doesn’t have a lot of the filler words that spoken languages use to get the message across. And it handles synonyms by a change of expression or by being more intense about the sign rather than using a completely different sign,” Spartacus said as he leaned back in his chair and extended his arm across the back of Sura’s chair.

“Talyn also tends to shortcut when he signs, especially with us,” Sura added with a smile. “And plenty of people will say he’s pretty monotone since he doesn’t exaggerate his expressions much while signing. But he still gets his point across easily enough and there are a few people that he tends to be more open with.”

“Did you already know sign language when you met him?” Duro asked and Agron was glad his brother was there to keep the conversation going when he was becoming more curious about this young man.

Spartacus answered with a slight smile, one that conveyed he was remembering something fondly. “No and neither did he. I went out and learned and then taught it to him. Over the past few years about a dozen of the Devas he works around more regularly have learned at least enough to talk to him with. But before that no one had really cared enough to try and talk to him, to find out what he had to say and it’s what helped him open up to me and then Sura when he moved in.”

“It’s nice that you let him move in with you,” Duro continued though Agron couldn’t tell if he was keeping the conversation going because he was curious for himself or asking because he knew Agron wouldn’t. “Did he have issues with his family? He can’t be too much past eighteen.”

Spartacus glanced over to Sura, who gave a slight shrug, and then he answered so Agron wondered if Spartacus had basically just checked if he should answer. “He’s twenty and, yeah, he was in a pretty rough spot when I met him.”

Duro nodded understanding and the conversation lulled. After a short silence, Duro turned his attention to Sura and picked back up a conversation and Agron sort of listened for a few minutes before he decided he needed some fresh air. He liked being outside and this place would be quieter than he was used to and that would be all the better. So, he just let them know where he was going and then headed for the door, going outside and he took a seat on the steps leading up to the door, resting his elbows against his knees and just enjoyed the quiet and solitude.

He didn’t mind being around people but he wasn’t as good with socialization as Duro was. It was a strain after a while and he started getting irate with people in ways they tended not to deserve.

He liked Spartacus and Sura. They were good people and he didn’t see any problems getting along with them, but he’d need a few more days to get used to them and for them to figure him out enough that he didn’t feel that need for space as often. But he thought it was a good thing he and Duro had taken this assignment; Agron just felt like it was something that would be better for them in the long run, that they would gain a lot out of it in ways that weren’t necessarily connected to their careers.

Talyn was returning with Roma, the dog right at his side and watching him attentively, specifically his right hand that was hanging loosely at his side. Agron couldn’t help but smile slightly at how eager the dog seemed be waiting for any command from the young man. She was obviously a good dog, intelligent, and she definitely loved the people she lived with.

Talyn passed by Spartacus’ car and hesitated when he looked up from where he’d mostly been focused on Roma, making sure she paid attention to him, and noticed that Agron was there. After a second and Roma sitting down once he’d stopped walking, he snapped his fingers and she stood and ran from his side in a wide circle around the cars before returning to him, dragging the leash on the ground. She then sprinted the short distance to Agron and he instinctively held his hands in front of himself to intercept her, petting her when she settled down enough for him to do so.

He looked up toward Talyn, who was watching him and seeming passive but Agron picked up on a twitch around the corner of his lips to give away amusement.

Agron had a chance right now and he wasn’t one to let opportunities pass.

“You sure you didn’t just stand out of sight of the house with her? She doesn’t seem any less hyper,” he joked and actually got a small smile for that along with a one-sided shrug. Talyn took a few steps closer and reached down to pat the dog on her flank and she spun around to nose at his hand until he started petting her. Agron rubbed his hands together, feeling a little nervous now. “So, it wasn’t anything bad, but Spartacus filled me in a little on your history.” Dark eyes locked onto him but Talyn locked down his expression so Agron figured he wouldn’t be getting any help by trying to pick up on nonverbals. Or he’d have to really work at it, at least, and it wasn’t something he was too great at. “Sorry about what I said at the office. I was working off some stupid fucking generalization about you not being a user. It was a really shitty thing to do.”

Talyn watched him for a few seconds and Agron felt like he was being picked apart by the intensity. He had to admit it was…pretty appealing to be on the receiving end of. Agron respected people who didn’t cave easily and with Talyn there wasn’t the feeling like he was being stupid about not backing down. Agron got the feeling – which was somewhat supported by what Spartacus had said about the young man – that Talyn didn’t _need_ to back down, that he could win against anything he stood up to.

Talyn gave him a quick nod and Agron hoped he was right to think that was an acceptance of his apology. He figured he got his proof when Talyn closed the last distance between them and sat down next to Agron on the step below him, Roma following his motion and rushing in to lick his cheek quickly before she bounded away, returning shortly after with a ball. She looked between the two men, deciding who to give the ball to and settled on Agron, dropping it on the step next to his feet.

Agron was about to reach for it when Talyn placed his hand on his arm briefly and he hesitated. “What?” he asked.

Talyn turned his hand over and held out his hand toward the dog. He looked between his hand, Agron’s hand, and Agron’s face a few times before Agron caught on and mirrored the motion. Talyn then moved his hand back with a quick pause of his hand that was a common motion to indicate that Agron needed to wait. He held his hand out for a few seconds when Roma grabbed the ball and then dropped it into his hand. Agron grinned figuring that the dog had been trying to get around something specific she was obviously trained to do. He tossed the ball to the right where the lawn spread out between Spartacus’ house and the one next door for quite a ways, the dog bounding after it happily.

“She’s too smart for her own good,” Agron declared with a grin to Talyn, who nodded with a brief shrug as if to say “what can you do?” At least that’s what Agron thought the quick flash of expression and that gesture likely meant.

But he’d communicated with Talyn. He’d said something, Talyn had responded. And they’d done that a few times.

This could work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor personal note: I am fluent in American Sign Language so I do know the rules of the language, you know, sentence structure and that sort of thing instead of just knowing a bunch of signs and the alphabet. While there won't be many cases through the fic of giving extended details of the actual signs being used, I do have notes of everything said even when, like in this chapter's case, Agron didn't know what was being said and I do know how it would be signed.


	4. Reader

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The investigation with Agron and Duro involved begins...

The morning had been easy enough. Agron and Duro rode in with Spartacus and Talyn to the Deva’s facility so they could get temporary IDs to use while working with the Devas. And then they’d left the facility and headed further into the city to meet with Spartacus’ contact.

Agron shifted in his seat, making sure the blade that was sheathed along the line of his spine moved so it wasn’t pressing into his back as noticeably. It had been a while since he’d used this particular sheath for the short sword he’d brought with him – the fighting instincts of a Paladin were stronger with melee weapons so he usually had a blade or three on him rather than any sort of projectile weapon like Duro carried – and he had to get used to it again.

It really was one of the best perks of having an active status with the P.P.O., being allowed to carry such weapons anywhere. Even the Devas and U.E.A. had restrictions on what weapons someone could carry determined by disposition.

Though Agron was pretty sure he’d seen Talyn’s jacket hanging over a blade or two in addition to the handgun he had holstered at the small of his back when he’d gotten into the car when leaving the facility.

Agron reminded himself then that whatever Talyn did he had the support of the Devas.

They’d been driving within the city for about half an hour, Spartacus and Agron exchanging small talk about the area they were in and heading to. Finally, Agron decided to ask, “Who exactly are we meeting with anyway?” He would have asked sooner but he’d honestly expected Spartacus to tell him without being asked.

Spartacus glanced over to him before answering, though Agron wasn’t sure what he’d been looking for. “Don’t worry: we don’t work with anything as unreliable as a snitch,” he started with a smile. “His name is Donar and he’s probably the most informed person there is in the city for Oni activity. He’s been someone I can rely on for years now and his intel has never fallen through.”

“That’s a pretty strong reputation,” Agron commented. “How’d you guys get a fix on him?”

“He was accepted as a Deva and completed our training program. He completed his two-year requirement with the organization and then requested to just be allowed to act on his own, said that he would be more valuable without any official connection to the organization and the Prominents allowed it.”

Agron took an educated guess, “Is he a Reader?” The disposition that allowed a person to perceive the thoughts of others would make sense for someone dealing in intel.

“Yeah, a damn strong one too. He’s pretty good about boundaries of allies, though, so it’s not like he’ll go poking around your head just for kicks. And, as a Paladin, you’d know if he was doing it anyway.”

Because Readers could be a threat to Paladins, it was just one of those things Agron had a heightened awareness of. Duro should be able to sense it as well but they had never been around a Reader who had pried so they didn’t know what the sensation would actually feel like.

“I want you guys to be able to have him available as a resource, regardless of whether I’m with you so you’ll stick with me to meet with him.”

Duro leaned forward where he was seated behind Agron and asked, “What about Talyn?”

Spartacus glanced in the rearview mirror toward Talyn before answering, likely checking for the answer but Agron didn’t turn to see as well. “He’ll take the perimeter. He prefers to stay out of Donar’s range and off his radar of information.”

Agron frowned at that. While he really did believe that Talyn was on their side and thought Spartacus was telling the truth about his trustworthiness, there were some things that just struck him as strange for someone they could supposedly trust.

Though, in this case, he wondered if it was a matter of him not being a user meaning that he really had no defenses against Donar’s ability to read his thoughts if he wanted to. Just like having a core could help people be aware of a Reader’s ability being used against them, it also allowed them to counter it if they knew how.

“So how does he manage to get all this information? And why did you wait until now to talk to him about these Oni if he’s so good?” Agron asked as Spartacus started making his way past smaller businesses though they were still in a reasonable part of town, not into a bad neighborhood yet.

“He gets that Oni are still human. They still have to do all that mundane stuff that we have to do. So, he has arrangements with a lot of business owners in the area that keep employees hired on that are connected to him. They pass along anything they hear or observe and he puts it all together. I try not to rely on him unless I absolutely have to, though. Every time his knowledge is used, there’s a chance that someone could connect him to the Devas and I’m not keen on painting a target that big on him. Just because he can take care of himself fine doesn’t mean I should be the reason he has to. And I’ve asked that he avoid making contact with us unless there’s a very serious risk that we have absolutely no chance of knowing about.” Spartacus paused, his expression becoming a complicated blend of emotions. “If the Devas can’t protect people on their own, if we had to rely on civilians to that level, no matter their history, then we wouldn’t deserve the trust placed in us.”

Agron looked over his shoulder to Duro, who gave him an approving grin and then sat back. Agron glanced toward Talyn while turning back toward the front and when their eyes met Talyn gave him a slight shrug and the corners of his lips ticked upward. Talyn was comfortable with such declarations from Spartacus and that meant a lot to Agron.

This was the sort of guy that needed to be a Prominent, that needed to be one of the people making the large-scale decisions for the Devas for the next decade.

Spartacus parallel parked in front of a gym and Agron shot a curious glance over to the Deva. Spartacus smiled as he opened his door. “As many connections as Donar has with business owners, this is the one that he wishes was his own. Instead, he just works here as a personal trainer.”

“I was just worried for a second that this was the one Talyn followed the Oni into.”

He heard a soft laugh that was more just a quick exhalation than any real sound and he looked back toward Talyn to see him covering his mouth with his hand as he opened his door and stepped out, immediately walking across the street and down the sidewalk.

He had a nice smile, Agron acknowledged before he stepped out and let Spartacus take the lead into the building as he scanned the area, making sure he knew what they were walking into and had a layout in case they had to beat a hasty exit. It was habit.

Spartacus called a friendly greeting to the man standing behind the counter straight in from the door asking if Donar was with someone or if he had a minute. He’d obviously been here enough that the worker recognized him and let him know that Donar was available – which wasn’t news to Spartacus since he’d arranged the meeting – and they were waved through and Spartacus continued to lead the way as the building opened up to a workout area with about a dozen people on various machines.

“Hey, look Agron, we found your true brethren,” Duro teased as he gave Agron’s arm a punch and nodded toward some of the more buff customers lifting weights.

Agron rolled his eyes. “Like I need it. Maybe you should consider signing up though. It’s getting practically embarrassing to be seen with you in public with those toothpicks you call arms. It’s not like they have anything here that’ll actually do me any good.”

This was obviously a gym focused on regular humans or for users whose dispositions didn’t increase strength.

“Those are in another room. Laws don’t allow equipment for users like us to be in the same place as these,” Spartacus informed them, amused. “Something about liability and not wanting to accidentally get people killed.”

“Yeah, that might ruin someone’s reputation,” Duro replied.

Spartacus pulled his phone out of his pocket and glanced at the screen, Agron able to see over his shoulder that he was reading a text but not able to read what it said. “Perimeter’s clear,” Spartacus announced in a low voice when he noticed Agron had seen him. “I’ll make sure you guys have Talyn’s number so he can get in contact with you if he needs to.”

“Told you you should have gotten better at texting,” Duro said to Agron just as Spartacus knocked on a nondescript door, which opened just as Agron was giving his brother a dirty look for insisting in teasing him even when they were officially working. It was mostly an indication that Duro was comfortable with what they were doing and who they were working with. And his brother had good instincts about that sort of thing.

Donar looked like someone who spent a lot of time working out. His build was solid – much like Agron and Spartacus’ – but not ridiculously so like Agron had seen on a few of the guys working out. He carried himself like someone who knew how to fight, too, something subtle in the posture that Agron had long ago figured out to pick up on. And while he knew that the man had trained with the Devas, he wondered if Donar had any military training as well or if that was just how he’d learned to carry himself. Though it might just have been helped by the near buzzcut he kept his light hair and the intensity of his blue eyes.

But then that seemed to flip in the moment it took for Donar to realize who was at his door and he gave a friendly smile to Spartacus and reached out to grasp his hand firmly with a boisterous, “Hey, good to see ya! Come on in!” He used his hold to pull Spartacus in, giving him a pat on the shoulder and waving in Agron and Duro and closing the door behind them as they all crowded into the office. Donar made his way around them and moved to sit at his desk while he waved them to chairs. Duro and Spartacus took the two chairs at the desk while Agron moved to the wall next to a small window facing a street. He took a quick look around at people and cars passing, recognizing Talyn walking across the street, keeping his perimeter by looking completely unapproachable and Agron had to hold in a grin.

“Have I ever told you that you know how to pick your battles?” Donar asked Spartacus.

Spartacus gave him a curious look and said, “No, never.”

“Ok, good, then I don’t have to take it back. Because you’re actually really shitty about it. Who’s this?” he flowed right into asking with a tip of his head toward Duro and then a glance toward Agron.

“Agron and Duro Rasch from the P.P.O. I requested help,” Spartacus introduced smoothly, pointing out which brother was which.

“Good, you don’t need to be told when it’s too much for you.”

“So you know these guys I’m dealing with?”

“I know enough but they keep a better low profile than I’m used to seeing.”

Agron crossed his arms. “Not that Oni make so much of a habit of announcing everything about themselves regularly,” he mused.

Donar gave him a slight grin for that. “Yeah, but these guys have stepped up their fucking game.”

“That’s really not what we need the Oni to be doing. We’re barely keeping ahead of them in all this,” Duro observed.

It was the best-kept secret of all the organizations that countered the Oni, that they weren’t keeping a comfortable advantage over their opponents, that it wouldn’t take too many lost Devas, U.E.A. agents, and Paladins and Valkyrie active with the P.P.O. for the Oni to actually start gaining ground uncontested. It was mostly a matter of numbers, but there couldn’t be a lowering of standards to make up the difference because anyone they got from doing that wouldn’t mean a true closing of the deficit.

If what Spartacus – and now Agron and Duro – was facing was a result of Oni figuring that out, they were well on their way to being fucked.

“I’ll take what you can give me, Donar. These people are dangerous.”

Donar leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, looking solemn. “You said you traced some of them back to a gym further north in the city, ‘Gladiator’s Ludus’?” Spartacus nodded. “I can’t confirm the place is owned or run by an Oni but they have used it as a place to train and coordinate. The ones you’ve already caught, they were bait. Set to give you Devas and the U.E.A. someone to investigate so they could get identities and start taking out your numbers. Even if they only got some small-fry Initiates, it’s still one less Deva to be a threat to them later. And someone being ranked an Initiate isn’t an indication of the threat they are, as the Oni have learned long ago. Hell, I’ve heard there’s an Initiate somewhere with whatever telekinesis is called that doesn’t actually need any effort to move anything, that he still moves things by accident even after he’s been through Deva training. That’s an Initiate who could be a threat to absolutely anyone he decided to be against.”

Spartacus nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been made aware of that Esper,” he said absently, obviously thinking deeply and likely not realizing he’d spoken. “There’s very serious concerns about him because if there’s someone like him, who the norms that we’ve come to understand about certain dispositions simply don’t apply to, then what does that mean to the other side of this fight? And in reports from the Deva Master he works under, this Esper isn’t likely to continue past his two-year requirement and we’ll lose our connection to him once he leaves.”

“He’s one example, Spartacus. Sure, he’s a damn good example but still just one. You know the Prominents won’t listen to one.”

Now Spartacus looked downright suspicious. “What do you mean?”

“If the world of cores is shifting, if the rules we fight by are being changed for us, then we need to change our approach or we’ll get demolished. The Devas are already at a disadvantage because they don’t take Chimeras. This will just make things worse.”

Duro and Agron exchanged a look, Agron shrugging a shoulder and letting the two get through this on their own. He wasn’t a Deva. It didn’t matter to him what they decided to do with the organization because it didn’t affect his job now or in any future assignments. He got the feeling that this was something he had to let them get out of their systems, too, so he figured it wouldn’t hurt for them to take a minute to do so. It would also give him some insight into where the two stood on things that didn’t come up as naturally in conversation.

“The Oni are getting their shit together like we’ve never seen. It’s like they’ve figured out how to use their selfish desire for more power to be that one thing in common that lets them set aside differences and work together when it used to be what kept them working mostly alone. And unless we do something, we’ll get our asses handed to us and we won’t come back from that. If the Devas and the U.E.A. fall, there won’t be a comeback; the Oni would make sure of that.”

“I can’t make the Devas change their policies and procedures. I’m not a Prominent. I’m not even eligible for another few years. I’ve only met one of the current Prominents face-to-face one time a few years ago so it’s not like I’ve got any sway with them to get a point across. What we’re dealing with, taking care of these Oni, that’s on me to resolve. So that’s what I’m going to do. I’ll take care of these Oni and maybe find what I need to give the Prominents what they’d need to hear what I had to say along those lines. And I agree: things needed to start changing years ago when we started losing ground against the Oni on the small scale. Now, Donar, do you have anything else for me with this?”

Donar was watching Spartacus carefully and while he looked disappointed with the answer he’d gotten he also didn’t seem too disheartened by it.

“Something within your more obscure area of interest that I happened to pick up when I asked for prices over at Gladiator’s Ludus.” Donar reached into one of the drawers to his right and slid a folded piece of paper across the table to Spartacus. The Deva picked it up and opened it, revealing a drawing of some sort of design, thick lines intertwining with a decent amount of complexity. Agron tried to get a read on Spartacus’ reaction, but the man’s head had lowered enough that Agron didn’t have a good enough angle to see clearly. And when Agron looked back up toward Donar, he saw that the man had closed his eyes. “I don’t know what it means because whoever I pulled it from didn’t know what it meant. I don’t want to know what it means either: I’m alive and relatively safe because I know when to shut someone up. But this emblem that I know you’ve made a point to learn about is on someone they want to locate. And I wasn’t looking for your reaction so I don’t know anything more than what I did when you got here.”

Spartacus slid the paper into his pocket and stood up. “Right. Then I’ll just remind you to call me if you come up with anything else for me. I’ll get you these guys’ numbers so you can contact them if you need to.”

Donar opened his eyes and looked up at Spartacus. “You don’t need to act so disappointed. I don’t actually know everything that happens in the city and I’m not done with my own investigation. I’ll be in touch as soon as I figure out how to really get some headway and give you what you need.” Spartacus gave him a nod. “Give me three days and I’ll have dispositions for you.”

“I’m not waiting for three days. I’ve got six Oni to find and apprehend before they hurt anyone else. And they’ve been inactive for a few days. So far that’s always meant more people are going to be killed.”

“I guess I don’t actually need three days to give you something. Your count is wrong: it’s eight, not six. There are eight more Oni actively working from that gym.”

Duro glanced over to Agron again. “This is starting to look bad,” he announced and Agron thought his little brother had a point. The two of them had never fought against that many Oni at once. Hell, he’d never heard of that many Oni working together successfully.

Donar smirked as he stood. “I guess then welcome to the shit-show. Maybe he’ll listen to you when you tell him to pull in more backup.”

Agron smirked then. “Lucky for him we’re allowed to declare that an assignment has insufficient manpower and can alter the conditions of the contract.” Spartacus looked over to Agron, his expression intense. “I haven’t decided whether or not it is yet. But I will make that call if I think it’s necessary, especially considering who you have working with you.” Capable or not, Talyn was only human and that couldn’t really give them much of an advantage over eight Oni working together.

Spartacus looked like he was going to respond but glanced down at his phone when it vibrated. He looked at the screen and let out a heavy sigh. “No need to completely gang up on me,” he muttered and Agron figured Talyn had put in his word on the subject, Agron knowing that the young man had to be wearing some sort of audio receiver to be of any use. Hell, Spartacus could have his phone on speaker and Talyn had heard everything from when they’d stepped out of the car.

And just maybe Agron’s opinion of Talyn improved ever so slightly because he’d agreed with Agron. Considering that Agron hadn’t been given any indication other than vague details of Talyn following the Oni of how he handled them, this at least indicated he had something of a brain about it.

Donar seemed to hesitate about whatever he was going to say next before he just blurted out, “You know I’m going to require a meeting sooner rather than later with the other side of that. Not because I’m curious, which I am but that’s not why, but because I don’t like not knowing where my information is coming from. Whoever that is has been working for you for a few years now and you met these two yesterday and introduced me today.”

Spartacus shrugged as he turned toward the door. “Then I suppose I must have a good reason for not introducing you sooner. Call as soon as you have anything.”

“Right. You know, a fucking ‘please’ wouldn’t kill you!” Donar called out as Spartacus opened the door and Agron and Duro followed behind silently, holding in their amusement.

“I’m not one for profanity,” Spartacus called back, his own amusement obvious just before he closed the door behind Duro.

The brothers followed him out of the gym in silence and they headed toward the car, Talyn already leaning against the hood waiting. They got back in and Agron watched Spartacus lean forward and wipe his hands down his face with a heavy sigh. It was the most affected Agron had seen the man since meeting him the day before, no matter what they’d discussed in that time.

“I was hoping for at least a few dispositions,” Spartacus finally revealed. “Looks like we’re just going to have to go for the direct approach.”

“You mean the same one you’ve been using that got the two of you injured the last time?” Agron asked shortly. He wasn’t going to let Spartacus just charge in; the man may officially be in charge of him and Duro, but that didn’t mean their hands were tied in calling out a shit plan when they saw it. “Try again.” Agron saw Spartacus tense up and expected a rebuttal of some kind but the man remained silent. “Look, you’ve got two people here who have never been in the area and have never come across any of the guys you’re up against. Either one of us looks like the type to be looking into a gym.”

“Please tell me your division at least has a Clairvoyant or Seer stationed there or a consultant with those dispositions you can call in,” Duro asked.

“The division doesn’t have either of those dispositions.”

Just as Agron was about to point out how strange that was – both of those dispositions were common and it was practically standard to have them available to every Deva division – Talyn kicked at Spartacus’ seat and Spartacus looked over his shoulder to give the young man a flat look.

Spartacus let out a sigh and continued, “But we do have a connection with a U.E.A. agent that’s a Seer.”

Agron looked back to Talyn and the other man gave him a slight grin before tapping his fingers to his forehead and then bumped his fists lightly against each other a few times. It took Agron a second but then he asked, “They bump heads?” Talyn nodded that he was correct in his translation and Agron was glad he’d successfully understood. It felt like an accomplishment and one he wanted to repeat.

“A lot,” Spartacus murmured. “I’ll get in touch with him and see if he’s available.”

Talyn tapped on his seat and when Spartacus looked in the rear-view mirror at him, he held up a hand and his hands flowed between different positions, spelling maybe.

“We both decided to keep this minimal,” Spartacus said. “You know if we let her know what’s going on just because we tell him, she’s not going to just leave it alone until it’s settled. And if she’s involved, he’ll stick around.”

Talyn shrugged and his hands were moving again, with more involved gestures that were more like what Agron saw last night when he’d been giving full sentences.

“Right.” Spartacus reached into his pocket then and pulled out the piece of paper Donar had given him. “By the way, this is what they’re looking for on someone,” he said as he passed it back to Talyn, who took it and looked at the drawing. His expression went back to being that flat, unreadable type of look for a few seconds before he shrugged and handed the paper back to Spartacus, who gave a sigh and started the car.

“Might as well see if he’s available.”

“And if he’s not?” Agron had to ask, needing to know if there was a “Plan B” for them to take the initiative here. Because everything about this so far as Agron could see had been reactive and it was probably impressive that there was as much success as they’d had so far.

“We see if we can isolate one at a time and continue to take them out until he is available and can give us our certainty.”

“So, being an agent, is this guy a Chimera?” Duro asked. While not all U.E.A. agents were Chimeras, because Devas didn’t allow Chimeras it had become the majority.

“Yeah, Seer and Berserker.”

“So he can figure you out and then kick your ass in a few minutes,” Duro said and Agron smirked.

Spartacus did at least give a slight grin as Talyn shook his hand in a “so-so” gesture. Both of them seemed to at least be joking, Agron getting accustomed to a hint in Talyn’s expression and the tone of Spartacus’ voice.

Agron had spent so much time lately only working short assignments, only focusing on completing the assignment and not really getting a chance to get to know anyone he worked with, that he realized that it was something that he’d sort of missed. Sure, he usually only tolerated people, but if they weren’t irritating it was nice to be able to get along with someone besides his brother.

He could see himself getting along with them, actually having a connection with someone other than Duro even after they were finished here. After all, Agron was a straightforward person, blunt to a fault, and honest and so he didn’t need long to know that he wasn’t jumping the gun on that opinion.

Honestly, as Talyn was opening up a little more throughout last night and that day, Agron found himself quickly wanting more. At the same time, based on what he’d picked up from Talyn so far, he also expected to leave here disappointed on that front. From what Agron could tell, inability to talk aside, Talyn was private _and_ restrained.

“He’s good at what he does, but you likely won’t get along with him,” Spartacus said as he pulled into traffic.

Duro reached forward and flicked Agron’s ear as he said, “Yeah, well Agron doesn’t usually make for good company either so I probably won’t tell the difference from when he normally meets people.”

Maybe Agron could get Duro reassigned to a fucking desk if all he was going to do was find ways to tease him. He did have authority over him being a Paladin while Duro was a Valkyrie and he had more experience with the organization. Though those tight-asses in charge would probably consider it an abuse of his position and Agron had worked hard to earn that.

Fuck, he’d just have to keep putting up with it.

It was a good thing he didn’t really mind with his brother.


	5. Communication

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agron's idea of how they will gather intel on the Oni requires that he get more familiar with Talyn...

The U.E.A. agent’s name was Crixus Viri and, no, Agron didn’t really like him. So far, the feeling seemed to be mutual.

At least his wife and partner with the agency, Naevia, didn’t seem to be of the same difficulty to deal with. In fact, Agron was still wondering how the two even figured out enough about each other to love each other considering how different they were.

Because where Crixus had done little but give short, gruff responses – except when he’d been giving Spartacus an extended dialogue on why the Deva was a fucking moron for not getting in touch with him sooner, especially with the deceased agents placing this firmly within their right to help with the assignment – Naevia had actually conversed with them. She had asked Duro and Agron questions about their experience and seemed to be doing everything she could to gather information about who she would be working with as well as on the assignment itself.

She had also _only_ signed to Talyn, though Agron suspected that the only reason Spartacus was talking to the younger man as much as he had was for Agron and Duro’s sake. So she was familiar enough with the two of them to know sign language and Talyn had carried on a conversation with equal involvement with her for many minutes until she had to shift her focus.

Agron hadn’t been able to figure out if Crixus knew any sign language since he hadn’t done anything to interact with Talyn, just seemed to know he was there and settled on that.

At least both of the agents seemed to be plenty competent and would be the help they needed. Crixus looked like he could hold his own in a fight, even without the short-term enhancements his Berserker disposition would provide and the way Naevia carried herself revealed her own fighting training and experience, regardless of how her Projector disposition – which had the sole purpose of causing hallucinations strong enough that the afflicted couldn’t differentiate between reality and hallucination - didn’t lend itself at all to being able to fight.

But they were about to shift gears into actually strategizing what they were going to do for their next move against the Oni. Spartacus was about finished detailing what Agron had suggested in going in and asking about the gym as a cover for them to have the opportunity to figure out dispositions, possibly even create an opportunity to take another of their opponents out.

“Isn’t Talyn the only one who knows what they even look like?” was the first thing Crixus asked when Spartacus finished up.

Naevia and Talyn had stopped their own signing conversation and looked over to Crixus at him calling the younger man’s name.

“Yes, he’s the only one though he’s given us descriptions to work from,” Spartacus replied. “And we’re all experienced enough for the descriptions to be enough to make an identification.”

“But our best bet is to have Talyn close enough to point us in the right direction, right?”

“I guess if no one wants to memorize the descriptions he’s given. I’m sure he appreciates the work he’s put into them being tossed aside so easily.”

Agron glanced over to Talyn, who gave a one-sided shrug of dismissal.

“Talyn doesn’t want to risk catching their attention,” Spartacus added.

Talyn tapped his fingers on the table to get Spartacus’ attention and started signing once he got it. Naevia moved toward Agron and Duro and leaned in to say in a low voice, “’Not wanting to catch their attention doesn’t mean I have to stay out of it. If it’s easiest for me to go in and point them out, that’s what we’ll do.’”

She was about halfway through her sentence when Agron realized that she was translating for Talyn and Agron appreciated the consideration for not being left out of what he was saying.

Crixus turned his attention to Talyn then. “You’re just a consultant. Out of everyone here, you’re the last one who should be on the front lines like that. Hell, you shouldn’t have been in the position at any point to be the one to get their descriptions.”

The look Talyn gave Crixus was downright glacial and there was only a short pause before his hands were moving, his motions not as smooth as Agron had seen so far and definitely faster. And Naevia didn’t seem keen on saying what was being signed so Agron figured it was as bad as the irritation in Talyn’s expression suggested it would be.

Spartacus let him be for a short while before he stepped between the two men, holding a hand out toward Talyn and giving Crixus a tolerant look before turning his full attention to Talyn. Agron noticed that he gave Naevia a quick look before he signed a quick message to Talyn and Agron wasn’t surprised that Naevia didn’t translate that either. It was obvious it was something Spartacus wanted to keep private.

Agron didn’t appreciate how easy it was to be left out of what was being said., especially considering what they were supposed to be doing here.

He then turned back toward Crixus, who was looking like he was holding back taking his chance to retort to whatever Talyn had signed. “You have a better understanding of the consultant system than that, Crixus, and you are familiar enough with Talyn to know better. Next time, I’ll let him keep tearing you down and will give a running dialogue to anyone around who doesn’t know what he’s saying, especially since I know you missed some of it. I’m not vindictive but I also don’t want to see the people I work with and trust going after each other when we have plenty of Oni around to do that for us.”

“And how, pray-tell, are we supposed to accomplish this?” Crixus bit back.

A thought had occurred to Agron a while ago and he saw his opportunity to see if it would fly with everyone. “The whole point of me going in to act as a cover was because I’m new in the area and there’s no chance of me being recognized. Well, part of being recognized comes from context, especially when you haven’t seen someone much. Just put Talyn in a different context and that’ll give him more cover than most people realize. Crixus can figure out his own reason for being there and we’ll just be separate parties.”

Spartacus seemed to be considering it well enough before asking, “What context did you have in mind?”

“Boyfriend would be easy enough to pull off,” Agron said. “I mean, there’s no way anyone would believe he’s related to me. And with our builds, it would be easy enough to believe that we already work out, make it a thing we do together.”

It was amusing to see the different responses to his suggestion, Agron would happily admit. His brother thought it was hilarious and was stifling laughter poorly. Crixus was giving him a strange look that he couldn’t completely place. Spartacus had initially looked like he wanted to object, there being a flare of disapproval before it faded into thoughtfulness. Naevia seemed like she also thought it was amusing enough but was better about not showing it than Duro was and she kept giving Talyn meaningful looks. And Talyn was just as difficult to read as ever. His expression had sort of gone back to being shut down but Agron could see the slight flush to his cheeks that gave him away a bit.

But he wasn’t shooting down the suggestion and Agron had decided that Talyn was the only one who he would allow to decline the idea.

Because, even if it was just a quick ruse, Agron knew what sort of boyfriend he’d be and there would be some PDA that Talyn would have to give the okay on. Nothing scandalous but he couldn’t have Agron’s arm around him and look uncomfortable.

Spartacus turned his attention toward Talyn then as well and gave him a questioning look, obviously checking to see if he was opposed to it just like Agron had. Seeing Spartacus looking his way, Talyn gave another passive shrug before signing something.

“’It shouldn’t hurt to try. Just someone being with me will cut back on me really catching anyone’s attention,’” Naevia translated. “Crixus can just come in a little after us and I’ll let him know if anyone we’re after comes into view.” Talyn had stopped signing but Naevia kept going, giving Crixus a smile. “What did you say about learning sign language? That it would never come in handy? Something like that?” She was obviously teasing the man and Crixus crossed his arms, looking frustrated as he obviously couldn’t figure out how to refute what his wife was teasing him about.

“He’s the only one I know who uses it and I hardly ever see him,” Crixus defended.

Naevia looked back between Duro and Agron. “I was learning sign language with Spartacus to be able to talk to Talyn and I made Crixus learn as well so that I could practice. He was a grouch about it the entire time. But then he met Talyn and decided he liked that Talyn couldn’t get away with saying something he didn’t understand and he was all for it.”

“Naevia,” Crixus muttered.

Naevia leaned in a little closer to mock-whisper, “Talyn still gets away with plenty because he can sign faster than Crixus can follow since he doesn’t practice when he doesn’t see him.”

Agron glanced toward Talyn again and caught the slight upturn of his lips before he schooled his expression again. But that seemed to be where Naevia decided to stop teasing her husband as she turned back toward him with a smile and Crixus let out a heavy sigh as he reached up and scratched his hand over his head, still frustrated but seeming to accept his treatment.

Naevia reminded Agron of Sura in that she was obviously a kind person but could hold her own when she needed to. Though as an agent, it was likely that Naevia’s threshold for striking back was closer to the surface and probably more violent than Sura would be. Because while being the wife of a Deva Master took an impressive strength, having to know that Spartacus was leaving home every day to a job where he could be killed with any assignment, it had to take a different kind of strength to stand beside them and be able to do your job before being their wife.

Hell, there were plenty of days and instances during an assignment where Agron had struggled, and a few times completely failed, to not be Duro’s brother. Not too recently as Duro had gained enough experience in the field to make up the difference of only being a Valkyrie but there was always that concern that he just couldn’t be on the same level as Agron in a fight.

“Then we have our next step,” Spartacus announced. “We’ll take care of it tomorrow. Agron and Talyn can use tonight to figure out their cover.”

“Right, like they need all that much work to tell people they’re dating,” Crixus said, getting a roll of the eyes from Agron.

“Agron is going to have to hold the conversation for both of them if we don’t want them to notice Talyn can’t talk.”

“Why worry?”

Spartacus was answering even as Talyn’s hands started jerking around irately. “The whole point is for him to fly under the radar. If there’s one thing notable to connect someone to, there’s a higher likelihood of more about them being remembered. Him being mute is definitely something more likely to be remembered. This is all things you know so why are you asking as though you don’t?”

Crixus went to speak before he seemed to be unable to and Naevia answered instead. “The agents these Oni killed are all ones who worked here, ones we knew well enough. We should have been involved with the assignment sooner but apparently the Prominents declared it to be something the Devas would handle on their own. And now we find out that you and Talyn have been the only ones working on this so far. I’m sure you can imagine our frustration. Agents and Devas are dead and that doesn’t seem to have gotten as much attention as it should have.”

Agron had to admit he could understand where the agents were coming from in their frustration when that was all pointed out. If he’d been in their position, would he have handled it any more logically and strategically rather than emotionally?

Spartacus seemed to understand as well since he just gave them an intense look and then a nod. “I’ll text you guys once we’re getting ready to head over. We’ll meet up first and then hit the gym.” Crixus rolled his eyes at that while Duro laughed and Agron gave a grin of appreciation for the joke. “It’ll probably be early afternoon.”

“Why not just get it over with?”

Talyn’s hands were moving again and Naevia smiled as she translated, “‘Because I’m not a morning person. Do you want proficiency or an attitude?’”

Talyn gave Naevia a pointed look at the end there and it took Agron a few seconds to realize that she’d taken liberties with her version of what he’d actually said. She simply shrugged and gave him a fake smile.

“It was close enough,” Crixus muttered. “Depending on the layout of the place, anything will likely have to be done in passing. Fingerspelling will probably be the most subtle and easiest to understand when you aren’t able to do full signs so try to keep yourself positioned at an angle towards me where he can cover it up even more using you.” The last part was directed at Agron and he nodded. He could get more details from Talyn or Spartacus tonight about what Crixus had meant.

“We’re going in armed,” Spartacus took back over instructions. “Be ready to be found out and attacked. Duro, Naevia, and I will be just outside ready to back you up if needed. But I actually doubt that they’ll start something in such an exposed position. They’ve been smart so far; I doubt they’ll break that because they suspect we’ve tracked them down. And that’s all it’ll be if they flag you as an agent or Agron as a Paladin.”

Agron wasn’t so sure. He’d seen plenty of Oni panic at the prospect of being caught and they were basically coming to their front door to gather enough information to really fight them so there was no telling what their reactions would be.

And Agron would be with people whose fighting capabilities were a mystery to him. The only person familiar to him would be back-up.

But this was what was best for them and so he wouldn’t try to find a way to get Duro in the building as well. He’d have to trust that Crixus was a good agent and that Talyn really did deserve the freedom the Devas gave him.

He wasn’t so great about the blind trust this was asking of him and it was his fucking idea.

* * *

Agron tossed the ball once more as hard as he could and smiled as Roma bolted after it. She’d been at it for about half an hour and didn’t look anywhere near tiring out but Agron found he didn’t mind much.

He remembered his mom having a dog when he was younger, before his Paladin core awakened and he went to the P.P.O. for training. By the time he’d finished his training and returned home, the dog had passed away and they hadn’t gotten another one. He’d liked the dog, he remembered, even if he didn’t really remember anything else about it.

Duro had hung out with him for a while but had gone inside a few minutes ago, wanting to talk with Sura and Spartacus some more, the younger man being more prone to socializing than Agron. Duro actually liked making small talk.

Honestly, Duro would probably be better suited to be going into the gym tomorrow, being better at holding a pointless conversation, but once the idea had hit him about pretending to be a couple with Talyn, he’d clung to it and just felt like he shouldn’t let his little brother run point on this.

He recognized that it probably wasn’t the best reason to go through with a certain plan but it wasn’t the worst motive. And when a certain aspect was convincing others that they were a couple, Agron actually having an attraction to Talyn would help. Duro wasn’t all that great about faking something like that.

Anyway, he could suck it up concerning his preference for being anti-social for the sake of making some measurable progress with this assignment.

He’d probably feel a little better after he talked with Talyn, gave himself a chance to be put at ease about how he’d be able to interact with the other man.

He took the ball from Roma and he let her trot around him excitedly a few times before he gave it another throw, the dog bumping into the back of his leg in her rush to chase after it and he staggered forward a step to keep from falling over.

“Not doing that again,” he muttered as he shook his head with a chuckle.

He heard the front door open and he glanced over his shoulder and was relieved to see that it was Talyn walking out to join him. He’d been about to turn back toward Roma when instead his attention was completely captured by Talyn, realizing there was something different and having to give the smaller man more than a passing glance.

Talyn had let his hair loose and Agron hadn’t seen that, the dark strands hanging down past his shoulders as Agron had guessed and framing his face in a way that made him look just a little older even as Agron also thought it gave Talyn a measure of softness to his features. His gaze was just as even as it had ever been but Agron felt that he was closer to seeing what Talyn kept under the surface.

Or he was just imagining things because he thought Talyn looked really fucking fantastic with his hair down.

Talyn stepped down the stairs smoothly and walked up toward Agron, pausing as Roma apparently abandoned her ball at least long enough to go greet him. He kneeled down and Roma practically skidded to a halt, walked the last bit of distance with barely contained happiness, her tail swinging wildly back and forth, and sat down right in front of Talyn, touching the end of her snout to Talyn’s chin before sitting back to wait for him to pet her. Once she was relatively still, Talyn reached out with both hands and scratched her behind the ears and then along the scruff of her neck. He kept up the attention for about a minute and Agron watched the proof of the younger man’s kindness that wasn’t as apparent as it was in Spartacus.

When Talyn stood up with one last scratch to Roma’s ears, the dog circled him a few times and then went back for the ball she’d left behind but seemed content with gnawing at it for the time being. Talyn finished his approach toward Agron.

“She’s calmer today,” Agron noted. Talyn glanced back over to the dog and gave a small smile of affection before giving a shrug. “You look good with your hair loose,” he blurted out before he really had a chance to think about actually saying it. But then when he noticed Talyn’s cheeks dusting with a blush Agron decided that the fact that he was likely blushing too was worth it to get that reaction.

He liked getting such an honest response out of Talyn.

Then Talyn reached into the big pocket of the hoodie he’d changed into and pulled out a plain grey beanie and slipped it on, pushing his hair underneath it so there was no saying what length or color his hair was. He then held his hands out to his sides and gave Agron a raise of his eyebrows in question.

Agron thought it over for a few seconds before waving his hand and answering, “Nah, go without it. That just makes you look like you should be in school and that’ll make us look great.” He finished with a smirk.

Talyn gave him a quick glare before he pulled the beanie off and ran his free hand through his hair to smooth it out. Then he glanced down at the beanie and up toward Agron, then between the two once more before he stepped right up in front of Agron and reached up to pull the beanie onto Agron’s head, yanking it down over his eyes. Agron stood up to his full height as he took a step back and reached up to fold the rim of the beanie so he could see and he just barely caught the end of Talyn’s grin.

Agron wondered if this is the sort of person Talyn really was, that this was who Spartacus and Sura saw all the time, or if this was Talyn just getting in the mindset for tomorrow. Or maybe they were the same thing.

“Fine, I’m keeping it,” Agron declared as he adjusted the beanie a little more to settle comfortably on his head. He figured he’d gotten a good enough start by not worrying about his brain-to-mouth filter so he risked just letting himself say what was on his mind. “I’d like to either hold your hand or put my arm around your shoulders. Can I do one of those?”

Talyn’s expression closed off immediately, though at least he didn’t move away. Agron considered that a point in his favor for this working out.

“I’m just that sort of guy. And it’ll be a good way to cover up anything you have to sign to Crixus. But if you’re not okay with it, I won’t do it. I want you to be okay with anything I do.”

He felt like he had to say that, that he had to let Talyn know that he was the one calling the shots in this.

Talyn was watching him carefully and he let him, just meeting the gaze of dark eyes and hoping he passed muster.

And after a period of silence that Agron sort of lost track of, Talyn seemed to find what he was looking for because he took a step towards Agron before he extended his right hand out to him. Agron glanced down to the offered hand and then reached out with his left hand to slide his fingers along Talyn’s palm and the side of his hand until he could take a loose hold of the limb and let it hang between them.

Talyn was warm, his skin smooth, the size difference between them reflected in how Agron’s hand enveloped Talyn’s. But there was no doubting the strength in those hands and while most of his hand was smooth, Agron shifted his hold a little and felt the calluses at the base of the fingers on the palm. Talyn spent a lot of time with a weapon in his hands, which made sense since he didn’t have the automatic instincts of a Paladin.

Talyn didn’t look uncomfortable but he was blushing, the natural darker tone to his skin helping to hide it somewhat but it was obvious that this wasn’t something he was used to. Besides…

“Do you think around the shoulders would be better? You know, so I’m not taking away one of your hands from being able to talk?”

Again, Talyn gave him a long look before a small smile passed over his expression.

He looked really good when he smiled, especially when it was those small, sort of shy ones like this one was.

Talyn pulled his hand away smoothly, like he was making sure it didn’t seem like he was denying the contact. He then stepped to Agron’s side, turning so they were facing the same direction, and then just waited with his gaze directed straight ahead of them.

Agron lifted his arm and casually slung it over Talyn’s shoulders, an easy thing to do since the line of Talyn’s shoulders was pretty much even with his armpit and once he was settled into position, he really could relax against the shorter man easily instead of there being any discomfort in the angle. He almost didn’t want to check in with Talyn’s response because he didn’t want to see that it was uncomfortable for him. But he did, leaning forward a little as he made sure he didn’t pull on Talyn’s body any so he could see the man’s expression.

He was distracted as he felt Talyn’s hand settle on his back at his spine just above the line of his pants. He hadn’t changed yet and so the blade he’d put on that morning was still in place at his spine. He was made acutely aware of that when Talyn’s fingers brushed against the end of the hilt.

He couldn’t help tensing up at the knowledge that someone besides him who supposedly knew very well how to handle the blade was touching the weapon. Talyn had to have felt his reaction but he simply remained where he was.

And that wasn’t a bad call: Agron would be wearing this weapon tomorrow as well. And if Talyn did this exact same thing by returning the contact, he would likely be in contact with the weapon and Agron couldn’t be focusing on that. And it was good to know that Talyn had such easy access to his weapons in case things went south. They wouldn’t be completely vulnerable.

Too bad Talyn had definitely removed his own weapons when he’d changed; besides the lines of his hoodie showing that he wasn’t wearing those weapons by how it hung on Talyn’s torso – to someone who knew what to look for, anyway – Agron’s arm was resting where he would feel any sheath or shoulder holster Talyn wore. Then again, he’d been wearing his gun in a holster that hooked on the inside of his pants to be closer to his body and harder to identify. He could still have that on him.

But as admittedly appealing as Talyn’s ass was, Agron wasn’t going to grope at it to see if he was conceal carrying.

Agron really needed to rein in those kind of thoughts. Just because they were faking being a couple for a day didn’t mean he had the right to go hog wild about his attraction to Talyn.

“You know, this is actually pretty comfortable,” Agron mused after about a minute of just standing there in silence. “Feels natural. We can work with this, right? And we should work out some sort of signal if you need to get my attention about any of the targets. I’ll make sure to try and keep you angled ideally toward Crixus but in case you notice something that I really need to pay attention to, you can at least alert me to if even if you can’t really tell me exactly what it is. I mean, I’m a Paladin so I should be able to figure out a threat but you knowing what they look like instead of going from a description can make a difference.” The thought suddenly hit him and he realized it would probably be important to figure that out.

Talyn looked up toward him, seeming thoughtful and Agron felt the fingers at his back tap him a few times but dismissed it as Talyn just being lost in thought. Then, when Talyn did move, it was to rise up on the balls of his feet and he leaned in close toward Agron’s ear, Agron naturally leaning down a bit so Talyn’s mouth was close to his ear and he felt the other man exhale close to his skin. He figured that to anyone else, it would look like Talyn was whispering something to him.

That would work and hopefully Agron would be focused enough on the assignment that he wasn’t distracted by the warmth that spread through him at the feel of Talyn moving in so close.

He needed to get a fucking handle on himself.

Talyn eased away, his dark eyes looking up toward Agron and he swore he saw some of the warmth he felt in himself but forced the thought to pass quickly. If he let those sort of fantasies run rampant, he’d never be able to focus and this was fucking important.

“That works,” Agron said, his voice low and Talyn looked away. Clearing his throat, Agron tried to move them on. “Is there anything else you can think of besides us just making sure we’re alright with this?”

Talyn gave a shrug and Agron let out a huff of a sigh.

“You know, I wouldn’t mind knowing what you’re saying,” Agron announced, feeling more confident in asking now that he’d seen such a parade of openness from Talyn toward him. “I know it’s not something I can learn in a day, but something would be better than needing someone to translate for you or relying on generic gestures that really don’t tell me what you want to say.”

Talyn looked up at him again with that searching gaze and again Agron just let him even though he couldn’t help it when the hand he still had across Talyn’s shoulders started fidgeting at the string of the hoodie.

Talyn stepped away then but then turned back toward Agron, standing just within arm’s reach. He then lifted his right arm to hover off to his side and he waved his fingers a few times and then he started making obviously purposeful shapes with his hand, flowing from one to the next at some sort of rhythm. He went through about a dozen before he stopped, obviously noting the blank expression Agron likely had. He started again though this time he also started mouthing along.

Agron recognized the rhythm but it still took him until Talyn was about halfway through his motions to realize that Talyn was going through the ABCs, showing him the alphabet in sign language. Agron recalled seeing Talyn spell things out earlier and he connected the motion to what he was seeing now.

Agron’s expression again gave him away because Talyn stopped signing. He paused for a few seconds before he closed his fist, his thumb remaining extended straight up, and he gave Agron an expectant look.

Agron glanced down at his own hand before he lifted it up and held up his hand in the same way, saying, “A?” Talyn gave a short nod before he extended his fingers, his fingers remaining in contact as his thumb curled over his palm. Agron against mimicked what he saw and asked, “B?” Another nod and that was how they progressed through the alphabet. Then they went through it all again. And then one more time before Agron could make it all the way through without a reminder from Talyn about how a letter should look.

“Not my fault ‘q’ makes no sense,” he’d grumbled when Talyn had rolled his eyes when that was the one that kept tripping him up.

They’d moved to the deck at one point and sat down facing each other at some point, Roma joining them immediately but simply laid out in front of Talyn and fell asleep. And once Agron could get through the alphabet, Talyn started spelling things out for him to follow along and then would have Agron repeat it so he got used to the feeling of moving his fingers like that. It was strangely difficult sometimes, his fingers fumbling the transition between letters semi-regularly. And when they got through the alphabet, Talyn took him through numbers, bringing him up through twenty-one and then showing how they proceeded from there where it was more repetitive.

When Talyn had let out a breath that was clearly him laughing at Agron, the Paladin had crossed his arms and groused, “Great, now I can fail spectacularly at talking in two languages.”

Talyn had kept on smiling and just gave him yet another shrug, seemingly just because he could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And herein lies the chapter where I realized how much I want to type "Nasir" instead of "Talyn" :D  
> Thanks for reading and see you next Saturday!


	6. Gladiator's Ludus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agron and Talyn meet a few Oni...

Just like the day before, Agron shrugged his jacket on over the sheathed blade strapped securely to his back, though he made sure that Talyn could see that he was wearing it and how it was positioned.

Talyn had nodded and then lifted the bottom of his own jacket up enough for Agron to see that he was wearing a pair of daggers sheathed of to either side of his spine with the handles pointed downward in addition to the gun hooked to his pants like the day before.

“If I go for something of yours, it’ll be the daggers,” Agron warned. Talyn rose a questioning eyebrow at him. “A Paladin core does nothing to help us with guns and I haven’t bothered working with them much. That’s more Duro’s thing.” Talyn nodded his understanding and they met up with Spartacus in the living room.

Spartacus glanced over from where he’d been talking with Duro and held up a pair of small cloth-covered containers. “Earpieces and a mic for you, Agron,” he explained. He turned his focus to Talyn and continued, “You have your sensor?”

Talyn nodded and held up his left hand, shaking up his sleeve enough to expose his wrist, showing off a thick watch.

Agron gave Spartacus a curious look and the man held up his own left wrist to show the same device. “All Devas on assignment are required to wear these monitors. They track heartrate and have a GPS installed in case of emergency, all connected to and observed at the division facility. Talyn’s has a pad next to the clasp that he can tap against to send a tone for Morse Code through the earpieces. It’s a bit more subtle than him having to pull out his phone whenever he needs to send me something. It should come through yours as well so if you hear a low drone that cuts out sporadically, that’s Talyn and I’ll give you guys a translation of anything he says.”

“And Crixus?” Duro asked.

“They keep gear at the U.E.A. and I’ve already given him the channel to sync up to. Naevia is going to be with us, Duro, covering the outside and ready as back-up. Crixus decided to go in a few minutes before you guys. He wants to have seen as many people there as he can before Talyn is giving targets. It’s not a bad idea and should save us the time we need to have Agron and Talyn inside.”

Spartacus was right in that it was a good idea.

“You guys ready?” Spartacus asked to Agron and Talyn, who both gave nods of assent.

It being later in the day, traffic was a bit heavier on their way there and it took closer to an hour to get to their destination from Spartacus’ house. In fact, Spartacus had mentioned that they were close to a part of the city that fell under another division’s official area of coverage. And while there was camaraderie between the divisions in the area – in some parts of the world, it became something of a competition between divisions depending on the Masters in charge – Spartacus mentioned that he’d still called the Master of the other division to let them know they were working in the area. There shouldn’t be any interference but had been best to let them be in the know.

When Spartacus drove by the gym, giving them all a chance to look over the exterior, it was definitely a place that did a lot of business. It was in a nicer part of the city, large, and what they could see of the inside was well-kept. If it was an Oni in charge of this place, they had a lot of money to throw into it.

Oh well, it wasn’t like the actions that earned someone the designation of “Oni” were only taken by people in any particular income bracket. Resources like that usually meant they just ended up being easier to identify.

Spartacus parked the car a block away and they all filed out, Spartacus and Duro heading off to the opposite side of the street until Talyn and Agron went inside the gym. Spartacus would stay outside the front door, settling in at a café that was across the street, while Duro covered the back door. Naevia would be wherever she thought was best, Spartacus had said with a smile when Agron had asked.

Agron opened the door, stepping to the side so a pair of women talking could walk out and then Talyn went inside first and Agron reached out to rest his hand on the middle of Talyn’s back as he passed, his fingers pressing over the hilt of one of the daggers. He shifted his hand a bit higher to where the clip holding the blade in the sheath was positioned so he could release the weapon with a flick of his fingers. This would work for now.

Just inside was reasonably open, with merchandise off to the right and a desk straight ahead about ten feet with a pair of men talking amiably in low tones, likely so their conversation didn’t carry through the open room. They looked up as the two approached and Agron saw their shift in demeanor to be dealing with new customers.

Agron didn’t see Crixus.

Talyn shortened his strides enough so that he could reach back and tap Agron’s thigh twice and have it not look like he’d done anything from their angle of looking straight at them.

So both of these guys were Oni that they were targeting. That didn’t take long.

They both looked like they took advantage of their place of work, the one on the left around Agron’s build while the other was a bit lighter, closer to Spartacus. The one on the left had slightly darker skin tone with dark hair and eyes, his hair buzzed short with a full beard and mustache and while his features were more on the round side, it didn’t take away from his intensity and Agron had the thought that this would be someone he would have suspected of being a criminal, Oni or otherwise, even if he saw him walking down the street. The other man had lighter features, shaggy dirty blond hair, blue eyes, and his skin paler than Agron’s in a way that conveyed he didn’t spend much time in the sun.

“Welcome to the Gladiator’s Ludus,” the burlier man on the left said, his voice thick with an accent Agron couldn’t quite place. "My name’s Ashur. How can I help you two today?”

Agron took another glance around before he answered, “We’re new to the area and were looking for a place to work out.”

“Well, this is the place for that. What can I tell you about us here, mister…?” He drew out the last word, prompting Agron for an introduction.

“Adam. And this is my partner, Tanner.” Talyn nodded with a brief wave of greeting and polite smile.

“Well, I hope you like what you see here. Where’d you move from?”

“Bumfuck Nowhere,” Agron replied with a smirk and got a chuckle from Ashur. “Moved here for work and feel like we’re settled enough to start getting back to some of our pastimes.”

“Then let me show you around so I can guarantee this is what you’re looking for.” Ashur stepped out from behind the desk, throwing a glance over toward the other man and asked, “You got it up here, Nemetes?”

“Of course. You sure you can handle working?” the other man shot back.

“Yeah, yeah,” Ashur said with a dismissive wave as he waved the two after him and Agron answered the sudden instinct to put Talyn in a less-exposed position and stepped up so that he was between the smaller man and Ashur. And Talyn accepted it easily enough, looking around like it was no big deal even as he slipped his hand into Agron’s so they remained in contact.

“Gotta say, the name caught my attention more than anything,” Agron said conversationally and genuinely curious. He’d thought it was weird when he first heard it.

Ashur chuckled. “The owner likes all things ancient Rome. Apparently, gladiators were trained at a place called a ‘ludus’. Not many people come into here knowing that but they all know who the gladiators were and that’s enough to at least get them in the door.”

“Makes sense.”

They walked by a decent size climbing wall to their right and a few offices to their left before entering a large room filled with exercise machines of all kinds and about a dozen people spread out through the room going through their own exercises.

Crixus was along the far wall, talking with another employee while he messed around with one of the weight machines.

Another squeeze to his hand indicated that Crixus was talking with yet another of their targets. It didn’t matter, though, since they were too far away for Talyn to communicate to Crixus. And he was facing away from them anyway so he might not even have known they were there now.

“You both look like you’ve spent a few days in a gym before,” Ashur said to keep the conversation going.

Agron grinned. “Yeah, we’ve done a little of everything. We like mixing it up, making sure we keep pretty balanced.”

“Nice. Helps keep you from getting bored, too. We keep our equipment clean and in good shape. And, of course, we have plans that include personal trainers just to give you that extra edge on your workouts. We even give you two free sessions with sign-up so you can see if it’s something you want to do."

“Great. I’ve never worked with one so it’ll be nice to give it a try. Do we get to pick our poison?”

“I can get you a list of all our trainers that includes their specialties. If we keep on heading this way, we’ve got the courts for various sports if you’re interested in that, some smaller rooms that we use for classes, yoga, pilates, Zumba, those sorts of things.” Ashur indicated toward doors as they continued walking through the building, not passing many people though they couldn’t see into most of the rooms Ashur identified. Only a few had windows and there wasn’t much going on.

“I guess this isn’t a busy time?” Agron asked as they passed the pool, there being a few people swimming laps but no indication from Talyn that it was anyone they were concerned about.

“Yeah, we already had the lunch crowd but we should be picking up soon and then we’ll get the rush of people getting off work and then our evening crowd.”

“Get pretty full in here?”

“Yeah, it can get pretty crazy. Honestly, you lucked out picking your time to come check us out. Too much later and I’d have been too busy to give you this sort of tour.”

This guy was a good salesman, Agron had to admit. Despite his initial unsettling feel and that Agron _knew_ he was an Oni, once the guy got going in his sale, he was damn convincing that he just had the customer’s best interests in mind. Him working a job that he obviously could tap into that aspect of his personality as a cover made Agron even more suspicious that the people in charge of the place were in on it.

They came to another open room and stepped inside, revealing another room full of machines and weights, though Agron was aware of the difference. There were another twenty people or so spread out through the room and he figured he shouldn’t have been surprised that there were more users than people without cores. A person having a core generally meant their bodies simply worked a bit better, that they weren’t as susceptible to illness or the effects of aging.

Because cores were always taking in strength from the heart, brain, or circulatory system – depending on where they were centered – and so they were always discharging excess unless the user used it all up. That discharge went back into the body, helping it function and stay healthy and strong. For many users, especially ones who didn’t choose a life of using their abilities regularly, that meant they always had plenty of energy to spare and working out was a great way to burn that off.

“This, of course, is our equipment designed for users, with a good portion of it able to be used by people with dispositions that boost strength. We do require that users and people without cores to keep to their own equipment for safety. I know most places don’t ask, but when you sign up, you need to disclose if you are a user and your disposition.”

That sent up all sorts of red flags to Agron. Ashur was greatly understating how rare it was for any place of business to ask if a person was a user unless certain dispositions were directly connected to what they were about. And for a place like this, only asking for status of whether or not the person had a core should be enough; making a person disclose disposition was going too far.

“Huh, they didn’t separate out equipment for users where we come from. People just needed to pay attention,” Agron covered with a smirk and got a chuckle out of Ashur though there was a shift in his body language that made Agron figure that he’d given something away of his thoughts. They couldn’t stay here much longer or Ashur would start to notice Talyn’s silence and Agron might actually slip up and reveal something about them instead of only getting Ashur suspicious.

But he was still a Paladin and he didn’t sense any threat so they were still in the clear.

“Proof, indeed, that you came from ‘Bumfuck Nowhere’,” Ashur joked and Agron chuckled along with him.

A door a bit further down the hall to their right opened and Crixus approached with the brunette he’d been speaking with in the weight room. And now that Agron could see her features, he started to wonder how he hadn’t felt threatened even having her across the room. She was intense to put it lightly, calculating, strong mentally and likely physically though her build wasn’t as muscular as Naevia’s, and she moved with confidence and authority.

Talyn pulled his hand out of Agron’s and placed it around his waist instead, hooking his thumb into one of the belt loops of Agron’s jeans so his hand could hang freely, able to sign subtly once the two approaching were closer so the woman’s attention wouldn’t be as easily caught by the movement.

The woman was detailing the equipment they had in the user’s room so maybe Crixus’ story had been a lot more detailed than Agron’s had been. She glanced over to Ashur and Agron picked up on a flash of contention in her expression before she was as professional as could be and Agron had to commend her for the control she certainly had.

After all, Ashur was smirking at her and obviously knew she didn’t like him and just used that to antagonize her further. Agron may have just met the guy, but he seemed to be that sort of asshole.

“Excuse us,” she prompted him as he was standing directly in front of the door to the room they were heading toward. “Perhaps you could take your tour of the building inside the room if you’ve got interested users. They might want to try out the equipment,” she said, sounding like she was giving Ashur kind enough professional advice but with them both being Oni, Agron had to wonder if they were passing along their own information, just like the slight tugs on Agron’s belt loops told him Talyn was communicating with Crixus. There was no way to know for sure, of course, but these guys were giving the Devas a challenge for a reason and Agron really couldn’t dismiss anything as beyond these Oni as far as the strategies they would be employing.

After all, even though it wasn’t the majority, there had always been gatherings of Oni, those who set up a solid operation and actually had as much synergy as the organizations that opposed them.

Someone was coming up behind them, from down the hall where they had come from, Agron noticed. It could have been anyone, a member of the gym just moving between rooms, another staff who had nothing to do with the Oni just going about their job, but Agron felt his shoulders tense in the way he only would when there was a threat. So, he reached his arm around Talyn’s shoulders and pulled him closer as he stepped to the side, away from the door and added a wave toward the woman and Crixus, passing off his movement as just doing as she’d asked Ashur.

“Sorry about that. We’re just taking a quick look around. Don’t mean to get in the way of your work,” he said in a kind tone.

The person behind them was still approaching, only about seven feet away now and Agron still felt defensive. He also figured that was close enough for anyone, core or not, to have noticed and to look toward the person even though they were moving pretty quietly.

Another woman, this one a blonde that actually looked out of place here. But she was approaching smoothly, didn’t alter her gait as Agron turned toward her. She was also wearing a shirt similar to the ones Ashur and the woman Crixus was talking to wore so she was another employee. Agron took another step to the side toward the wall and made sure Talyn followed him, glad when the younger man did so without any sort of resistance.

The blonde’s hand still brushed up against Talyn’s left hand as it hung loosely at his side. Talyn’s whole body tensed up at the contact and he pulled his hand in to his stomach, clenching against his shirt before seeming to catch his reaction and obviously forced himself to relax, though he still kept his hand close to his body.

And out of the corner of Agron’s eye, he saw Crixus start to take a step forward before seeming to catch himself before he moved past the brunette. It was a defensive motion, Agron knew immediately, would have known if his own instincts weren’t screaming that he shouldn’t have let that happen.

“Excuse me, everyone,” the blonde said as she weaved her way through the collection of people. She didn’t get in a position to make contact with Agron but it did seem like she tried with Crixus but he managed to subtly sidestep it enough so she couldn’t have made it look accidental.

The feeling of no longer being in a neutral setting didn’t pass even after she was gone from sight. Something about her approach had initiated something here and it wasn’t going away.

It was possible that Agron was responding to how Talyn hadn’t relaxed again but that couldn’t be everything. But he should be more experienced than that, than to let an ally’s anxiety affect his ability to work proficiently. So that meant there really had to still be some threat.

Agron wouldn’t be able to remain casual while his instincts were escalated. Anything he perceived as a threat to himself or Talyn, and possibly even Crixus even though he wasn’t as close to him – an ally was an ally after all and his core recognized friend from foe as he did – could make him unable to act any way but defensively and it got pretty obvious when he was gearing up for a fight.

People tended to notice a blade pressed against their throat.

“So this hall loops back around to the other weight room?” he asked, trying really hard to sound casual.

Ashur focused back on him and his demeanor returned to that of a salesman and Agron mentally cussed himself out for not noticing that Ashur’s body language had changed to a reasonable degree to begin with. He should have been paying better attention, not been so distracted by his instincts kicking in. He was better than a fucking rookie move like that.

“Yes, it’s pretty much one big circle so people can get through it easily enough. What do you think?”

“Excuse us,” the brunette repeated as she simply walked between Ashur and Agron and Talyn with Crixus following a few steps behind. They went into the user’s weight room and continued further away from them, leaving the three of them alone once again.

“It really is a kickass place you’ve got here. Almost to the point that I’m kinda worried that we won’t be able to afford it. Just settling into the new job and place means we don’t have _that_ much money to spare. We just wanted to get an idea of what was in the area and if anything was in our budget,” Agron replied, gradually feeling the tension pass. He was settling back into his role though Talyn still didn’t seem able to get over that brief contact and Agron couldn’t wait to get the out of there and figure out why.

“We can head back up to the front and I’ll go over the plans we have available, the deals we have going on right now and hopefully we can find something that works for you.”

Ashur turned and led the way again, Agron following behind after giving Talyn a look that conveyed his concern and that seemed to help Talyn pull himself together a bit, enough so that Agron didn’t feel the tension in his shoulders as prominently.

And half an hour later with Agron talking prices while Talyn wandered away to look at the merchandise as a cover to get some distance from Ashur and hopefully keep his silence from being noticed during a time when people were more likely to say something, they were able to leave. Crixus was still inside but the two of them were out and Agron felt like that was what they needed in order to be safe.

He’d returned his hand to the small of Talyn’s back when they’d been leaving and he hadn’t removed it yet even as they were far enough down the street that they were out of sight. Talyn hadn’t shaken him off either.

Spartacus eased up next to them as they were about to cross the street to the next block over. There were a few other people around them as well so they couldn’t say anything yet but Agron felt a bit better to have his back-up right beside him. Duro wasn’t approaching yet but he was likely hanging back with Naevia until Crixus was clear as well.

Agron and Talyn probably should have stayed too, but he just couldn’t be close to that building any longer.

He’d faced off against so many Oni in his time with the organization but it had been a long time since he’d been unsettled like this. It couldn’t have only been their numbers; he could and had handled that sort of thing before.

Talyn was part of it, Agron admitted. Maybe it was that he was a regular person. Or maybe it was whatever it was about the younger man that made Agron’s heart race whenever he came in close. Either way, Agron had become acutely aware of Talyn throughout the past day and it had pinpointed in that moment the woman had brushed against him.

They continued walking until they reached the car and only then did Talyn pull away from Agron’s hand, leaning his back against the car with a deep sigh as he ran his hand through his loose hair, pushing it away from his face but then he dropped his head and it fell around his face so Agron couldn’t see his features anymore.

“What happened in there?” Spartacus said.

“We identified a few of the Oni. We’ll have to wait for Crixus to get the full details of what we’re dealing with,” Agron replied absently.

“That isn’t what I meant.” Agron turned toward Spartacus with a questioning look. What else would he mean? “Talyn almost called us in. He got about halfway through the signal he uses to call for back-up when he stopped. I almost came in anyway but then you guys kept speaking and it was obvious he was alright. So, what happened, Na…Talyn? Agron?”

Agron frowned at how Spartacus caught himself saying something but couldn’t figure own what the man had been about to say before just calling their names.

He was fucking done with this part of this fucking assignment. He needed to get back to his strengths so he could stop second-guessing himself: combat.

Agron was figuring out how to word what had happened when Talyn’s hands suddenly started flying, carrying on whatever he was telling Spartacus for about ten seconds and Agron was somewhat surprised to see how angry Spartacus was getting by what was said. Then Spartacus started signing back and Agron really got pissed that he was being left out like this. At least whenever Spartacus had been signing with Talyn over the past few days, with very few exceptions, he’d at least spoken while he was signing and would give the general idea of what Talyn said. But now he was completely disregarding Agron and actually looked to be outright arguing with Talyn, both of their hands moving sharply because of their tension and with no attempt to slow down their pace.

Agron was pretty sure he’d seen fist fights less aggressive than this looked. Just what the hell had he missed in there?

And it didn’t stop for a while, to the point where Agron figured there was more to this that what had happened inside the gym. With that in mind, he stepped forward, placing himself between the two men with his hands up in a placating manner. “I don’t know what the fuck you guys are arguing about since you’re choosing to leave me out of it, but this really isn’t the time.”

Talyn moved like he was going to step around Agron but he reached out and rested his hand on Talyn’s shoulder. He didn’t put any strength in the touch, made sure it was obvious that all Talyn had to do was move away and he’d let him, but the smaller man just remained in place and looked up at Agron as some of the anger faded from his expression. And when Agron looked over to check on how Spartacus was responding, he caught the curious expression he was giving the two of them. Curious and surprised.

Agron turned his focus back onto Talyn and asked him, “Do you know what that lady’s disposition was? Did she do something to you when she touched you? Because my core, my protective instincts were going haywire from the second she started approaching us. And, sure, we’ve only known each other for a few days, but I’ll still respond to a threat against an ally.”

Agron was heavily relying on the two being a Deva and a Deva consultant and so familiar enough with the abilities of a Paladin to understand what he was talking about. The instincts Paladins had toward danger, to themselves or others, were acute to begin with but could be trained to such sensitivity and precision that they could practically tell when someone was thinking about being a threat, picking up on the shift in their body language to being aggressive.

Agron’s own proficiency in that regard was moderate, able to perceive threats just before they were being carried out. He had a stronger awareness of danger towards Duro because they’d had an affinity for most of their lives and had been constantly around each other to make it even stronger.

Talyn lifted his hand and spelled out his message to answer Agron slow enough for him to understand.

S-h-a-d-e.

Agron let out a sigh of relief. Shades were no threat against normal people. They marked cores, could inhibit a core’s connection to the user, could damage a core with the power that they used to mark their target, but it all came down to a core needing to be in the target’s body. If she’d touched Agron or Crixus, she could have done enough damage to create an opening for any of the other Oni around them to take them out.

But then his mind caught up to all that he knew about Shades and he was confused. “How’d you know it was a Shade? They don’t have any effect on people, just cores. Everything that happens to the body because of a Shade’s mark is a side effect of what they do to the core.”

“Not always,” Spartacus interjected. “You know that there’s exceptions to every norm when it comes to cores. Some Shades have been recorded to be able to make people without cores sick with their abilities. Furthermore, there are simply people who are more sensitive to the effects of a core’s power, regardless of whether or not they have one themselves, like an allergy makes someone more sensitive to whatever they’re allergic to. Talyn picks up on a lot when it comes to cores.”

That sounded evasive. It was also somewhat of a misconception of someone being sensitive to the power of a core and a Shade being able to affect them. Core sensitivity usually presented in them being able to see a core’s discharge without having the disposition made for that sort of ability or the person just having a sixth sense about if a person was a user or if they had an affinity, stuff like that.

All the cases Agron knew about where a Shade affected a person without a core was a specific ability and had nothing to do with the victim and any core sensitivity.

Agron was about to call Spartacus out on this when Talyn took hold of his wrist, his hand still resting on the smaller man’s shoulder. When Agron focused back on him, Talyn started spelling again, Agron noticing that he’d take a short pause between words to help Agron pick up on them.

C-h-i-m-e-r-a. N-e-e-d. C-r-i-x-u-s.

Agron frowned, trying to fill in the blanks. “She was a Chimera but you don’t know the other disposition?” Talyn nodded. "Whatever the other disposition is made her able to affect you with the Shade core?” Another nod. Crixus would be able to tell them the other disposition.

That made more sense than what Spartacus had said but, for some reason, Agron didn’t feel satisfied. He still felt like this was some sort of misdirection. Maybe it was that little slip Spartacus had made a few minutes ago.

Or maybe he was just still on edge from feeling the threat in there. He’d always been one slow to calm.

But even that didn’t feel like it was the case.

Talyn was signing again.

S-a-w. A-l-l. O-n-i.

Talyn must have caught sight of the ones Agron missed out on when they weren’t in a position to let Agron know. The best bet would have been them being in the user equipment room since that was where most of the people were and between talking to Ashur and how they’d been positioned, it hadn’t been convenient for Talyn to let Agron know he’d spotted one of them. Considering how close Ashur had been and the hallway they’d been in, pretending to whisper to Agron probably wouldn’t have even worked, the Oni likely would have noticed Talyn didn’t make any noise. As long as he’d managed to tell Crixus, that was what mattered.

Spartacus let out a quiet sigh. “I actually didn’t expect you to have seen them all. Are they all staff?”

Talyn shook his head but then shrugged. So, he didn’t know?

Spartacus stepped closer and Agron took a step to the side so the other man could move a bit closer to Talyn, his body language relaxed. Agron dropped his hand from Talyn’s shoulder as Spartacus reached out and took hold of Talyn’s right elbow. “You’re alright? Nothing to be worried about?”

Talyn gave him a nod and Spartacus observed him for another short moment before he sighed again and turned away, looking toward where the rest of their team would be approaching from. Agron hadn’t heard anything from any of them but his earpiece was set to only receive from Spartacus unless the Deva opened a channel between Agron and one of the others. Agron had asked for that so he wouldn’t get distracted.

But now that meant that he had no idea if Crixus had finished his part and they were all returning.

Agron turned to lean his back against the car, crossing his arms as he watched Spartacus and Talyn; the two looked anxious. And, sure, Agron thought that it was taking long enough for Crixus to work his way out of there already, especially considering he’d been there before Agron, but the Paladin figured that if there was really something to worry about, he’d have felt it through his affinity with his brother. So, until that happened, he wasn’t going to worry that things went wrong now.

“This couldn’t have been how they found the agents and Deva they killed,” Agron suddenly mused aloud. “First of all, you guys always have your own training facilities that are much better equipped than that place, nice as it was. Second, it would have been too easy to spot that everyone they’ve killed trained at the same gym.”

Spartacus looked over toward him before returning his gaze to the road. “No, we didn’t have any connection to this place before. It was happenstance that Talyn was able to track them back here. I don’t think this is for finding targets but for finding new recruits. If they’ve got as good of a handle on people as they seem to, they may just be able to get the in they’d need to convince people doing things that make them an Oni is worth it. There are some out there that only lack the opportunity.”

Talyn signed something but it wasn’t to spell it out so Agron didn’t understand.

“Especially if they have a disposition that alters or influences perception on their side,” Spartacus translated. His posture changed then and he looked more attentively toward the street. “Crixus is out. They’re heading back.”

Agron felt his shoulders relax a bit at that news. Good, nothing had happened while half of Crixus’ backup was a block and a half away. And with eight Oni in there, that could have gone bad quickly, no matter how skilled Crixus, Naevia, or Duro were.

A minute later and Crixus and Naevia came into view and Crixus looked downright pissed off. Once they were closer, Agron couldn’t keep from asking Naevia, “Where’s Duro?”

“He’s holding back for a minute, making sure we aren’t followed. We don’t think we were found out but he thought it was best to be safe,” Naevia responded easily enough but Agron could pick up the tense tone in her own voice that reflected what he saw on Crixus’ expression.

“Crixus?” Spartacus prompted.

“How the fuck did we miss this, Spartacus?” he growled in reply. “How did we miss the Oni putting together a fucking army right under us? We fucking knew that Oni were starting to work together more so why didn’t we start looking for places where they could collaborate all that when we’ve got divisions for our organizations standing all over the place for anyone to know where to go.”

“What did you find?” Spartacus asked, his voice calm but at least didn’t seem like it was placating, which Agron felt would have made things worse.

“That lady that was with me, she’s the wife of the co-owner. I was able to get a few minutes without her and was able to check a few customer files. They’re flagging certain cores and personalities. They’re looking for people they can use, bribe, coerce, even outright blackmail into becoming Oni. Then once they’ve done something that would declare them as Oni, the fuckers just monopolize on that once you’re an Oni you don’t go back to being just a user.”

“Gotta give it to them for pandering for the overview lesson the general population is given: once an Oni, always an Oni and always bad,” Agron muttered darkly. People tended to ignore the rehabilitation aspect that all apprehended Oni were required to undergo and those with minimal charges against them could even be released relatively soon though their core was never allowed to be unsealed. It still wasn’t the life sentence most people thought it to be.

“The Oni are adapting to how things are different now faster than our side is,” Naevia said. “And we can’t do anything to change it. We don’t make those calls; that’s for the Prominents and those in charge of the U.E.A. and the P.P.O. We just get to make sure these guys don’t go any further and get the word out that this is now something to be more concerned about happening.”

Spartacus pinched at the bridge of his nose before asking, “Unfortunately, Naevia is right. I’ll make sure I send in an urgent report to the Devas and hope that it gets us more official support instead of contracting out like this but right now I’m restricted by the scope of my assignment. And as agents, you need authorization to do more as well. Agron and Duro have some freedom here through the P.P.O. but it’s not enough for what we’re up against.” Agron gave a slight nod of agreement when Crixus, Naevia, and Talyn looked over to him. “So, for now, we have no choice but to continue as we have been. Did you get the dispositions of the Oni like we came for?”

The anger in Crixus stepped up a few levels but Naevia reached out and grabbed onto his wrist and moved in close enough to whisper to him and Agron didn’t even try to listen in, allowing her to say whatever she needed to appease him.

Crixus took a few deep breaths even as Naevia was still whispering to him and while the anger didn’t really pass, he seemed to at least get it under control. “Of course I got the fucking dispositions,” he finally said. “They’ve got a lot of power on their side with dispositions alone, doesn’t matter how many of them you’ve managed to take out. For now we’ll settle for a basic rundown.” Spartacus nodded acceptance and Crixus closed his eyes, becoming thoughtful but it might also have been a way of remembering what he’d seen better. “First one, Aura and Valkyrie.” An Oni Valkyrie was extremely rare, only a few ever having been recorded. “Second, Warp and Dragon but there’s no difference for what element they control so I can’t specify further.”

“Fuck,” Agron muttered as quietly as he could. That could mean the difference between winning and losing.

“Third one is Siren, Telepath, and Spectre.”

There was a huff of breath from Talyn and Agron glanced down to the man to see that he’d mouthed something with that exhale and he guessed it had to do with the “Spectre” disposition, which Agron had never even heard of. Great, he’d have to look it up once they got back to the house.

“Fourth is an Esper and Elemental, again I can’t tell what they control just like with a Dragon. Fifth, Berserker and Aura. Sixth, Wraith and Elemental. Seventh, Shade and Projector. And the Eighth is Qilin, Djinn, and Berserker.”

The small group went silent as Crixus opened his eyes and looked between the three men listening to his findings.

Agron let out a sigh as he ran his fingers through his short hair, catching sight of Duro coming into view as he approached them.

Duro returning meant that everyone they had working on this was present now and it really did seem so outmatched regardless of how much skill, strength, and core power they had between them.

“Yeah, we’re fucked.”

Spartacus frowned but he didn’t actually deny the statement.


	7. Instincts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finding a way to use the information they gathered may be a moot point...

Spartacus and Crixus were at the former’s desk, going through the descriptions Talyn had given and were matching dispositions to faces. They even had a good portion of the names to go along with them and were working on getting some background information attached. The information compiled would be sent with a report to the Prominents so they could hopefully get a few more Devas for support before they made any moves against the Oni.

Agron, Duro, Naevia, and Talyn were in one of the conference rooms going over information as it was sent from the other two while also going over information for the dispositions they were going to be dealing with since they weren’t familiar with all of them. Agron was used to dealing solely with dispositions that enhanced physical attributes so this much variety meant he was slightly out of his area of expertise, though not enough to think he still couldn’t do the job.

“We’ll start with Ashur, the Aura and Valkyrie,” Agron stated. Talyn nodded from his seat next to Agron and he pulled up the file on the man that Spartacus had sent to him and turned it around for Duro and Naevia to see. “It’s a potent combination for dispositions, one enhancing his strength and endurance while the other creates concentrations of energy around the body that basically explode. He’s the one that was showing me and Talyn around. He’s a good salesman though definitely more for the tougher crowd.”

“Asshole’s giving us Valkyrie’s a bad name,” Duro grumbled and Naevia smiled a little before fighting it off.

“We can send a message to the P.P.O. If he hasn’t changed his name, they should have some record of his training.”

All Valkyries – and Paladins for that matter – were required to be trained by the organization. A user who wasn’t trained was lucky to survive any activation of their abilities.

“Do you think he’s a case like Crixus was talking about, that he was coerced or blackmailed into becoming an Oni?” Naevia asked.

Agron was going to answer but Talyn was already signing in response so he waited for Naevia to translate.

“‘Doubt it. He gives off the feeling of someone who does what he wants and people are just lucky when it happens to be what they want.’” When she finished, she glanced over to Agron for his feedback.

“I agree. This guy is only controlled as much as he allows. That might be a point of friction between him and the ones in charge, especially since it might come to a point where they hold him back and he’s not going to go along with that forever.”

“If we can find something to back that, it’ll be a damn good advantage to have,” Duro mused.

“Well, he didn’t seem to get along with that lady showing Crixus around.”

“Lucretia,” Naevia supplied.

“Right. It was fucking tense between them.”

“And as the co-owner’s wife, she’s in a position of authority."

“They could also just not get along. It wasn’t exactly the prime example of a professional atmosphere in there.”

“Agron, don’t give us shit and then shoot it down,” Duro said as he crossed his arms.

There was a soft exhale next to him that Agron was beginning to recognize as Talyn laughing. And Naevia was signing to him as well and Agron glowered at her, to which she just looked back at him as she finished whatever she was signing.

“I’m going to learn the fucking language and then you won’t be able to do that anymore,” he threatened, completely serious. Talyn laughed again as Naevia just lifted an eyebrow at him as though in challenge.

“Let’s keep moving, guys. I want to be done before Spartacus and Crixus,” Duro said as he reached across the table and hit one of the arrow keys to switch the display to another profile. “Nemetes was the other one working the front counter when you got there, right?”

Agron leaned forward enough to glance at the picture before he nodded. “Yeah, he’s a Dragon of undetermined element and a Warp.”

“Never actually dealt with a Warp before. Apparently being able to teleport around the planet is difficult and not many are able to make much of their abilities.”

Naevia gave a slight shrug and said, “I’m not sure about the Devas, but the U.E.A. has a few dozen Warps between all the different offices around the world. We keep their identities as low-key as we can so they don’t get targeted as the invaluable resource they are. Most work in positions that wouldn’t call for them to expose their disposition but are ready to be called in at any moment for helping with a retreat or providing urgent back-up.”

Agron added, “The Devas have a few as well. One of my first assignments had one on the team. They’re pretty impressive as long as their power holds out; they drain quickly.”

Naevia was deep in thought when Talyn started signing again and he had to tap the table a few times to get her focus on him, the woman making small circles with her fist over her sternum before Talyn began again. “‘Being a Chimera drains them slower?’” It took Agron a second to realize that the question in Naevia’s tone wasn’t part of the translation but her asking. Talyn signed a bit more and the woman rolled her eyes. “It’s not like there’s only a little to know about cores. I research what applies to my job. Besides, I have you around to know random shit like this so I don’t have to look through dozens of reports to find the one bit of random trivia I need.” She purposefully looked toward Duro as Talyn started another message and said, “He reads research journals to pass the time, especially ones concerning uncentered cores. You ever really want to see sign language in full swing from someone who relies on it at their primary method of communication, ask him a question about one of those dispositions.”

“Moving on,” Agron interrupted though he was really having a hard time keeping from smirking. Duro again hit the arrow key and Agron looked around to see a profile of one of the Oni he hadn’t seen.

“Tiberius Crassus,” Duro read off. “Wraith and Elemental. So he could use whatever element he controls as a distraction to get in close enough to mess with your connection to your core.”

“The only Wraith that is easy to deal with is one untrained,” Naevia commented, her tone making Agron think she was definitely speaking from experience on this, likely multiple experiences. Wraiths were a bit more common, especially in the Western Hemisphere. “At least Elementals can’t just materialize their element like Dragons can. It gives a little more limitation to how effective he can be.”

Duro nodded absently as he was looking over the profile and he frowned. “This says he’s the son of one of the co-owners. Father is Marcus Crassus.” Duro hit the arrow keys a few times to find the profile he was looking for, another one Agron hadn’t actually seen. “This is the Qilin, Berserker, Djinn Chimera.” He continued looking through the profile as Agron considered what sort of opponent the man would make.

“The Qilin and the Berserker make for a tough enough combination, able to create barriers and give himself enough of a boost in strength and reflexes to hold his own against any Paladin. The Djinn though, that’s just one fucked up disposition being able to touch you and actually alter your perception. They’re considered to be stronger than Projectors because while they cause hallucinations, those guys have to rely on the message being believed. A Djinn just has to tell you it’s what you see and feel and your brain chemistry changes to agree.”

Naevia continued on the topic. “Yeah, it’s a disposition that comes with a lot of controversy. We use them for rehabilitation of Oni, helping them realize why what they did to become Oni was wrong until they actually believe it without the Djinn’s message. But there’s plenty of people that are pushing for all those dispositions – Projectors, Djinn, and Sirens – to be sealed by default and any use of them to be grounds for being considered an Oni.”

“I bet this guy’s good at using it, too. He’s fucking smart. A few degrees in business management, filthy fucking rich, has a penchant for taking out anyone who makes him a competitor in whatever way will mean he’s the winner. He’s open about being a user but nothing on official record of what his dispositions are.” Duro rattled things off likely as he read them and deemed them important enough to note. “Honestly, he’s probably going to be the one we really need to watch out for. If we don’t handle things right, don’t have anything to prove that he’s a part of this, he could probably go over our heads to everyone _but_ the Prominents and tie us up with red tape.”

“The Prominents answer to the world, after all,” Agron replied absently.

Talyn tapped the table a few times, getting Naevia and Agron’s attention but Duro kept reading, likely thinking Naevia would be translating as she had been. When he didn’t look up, Talyn knocked on the table until blue eyes finally turned toward him. Talyn waved his hand in an obvious “get on with it” motion and Duro hesitated for a few seconds before he let out a sigh and went back to one of the profiles they hadn’t checked yet.

“Ilithyia Glaber,” Duro read off. “She’s the one that touched Talyn,” he clarified with a pointed look at the man. “Shade and Projector, since we were on the subject. I guess that’s why you still felt something when she made contact with you even though you aren’t a user and don’t have a core for her Shade to mark.”

Agron still wasn’t convinced that was the case. Something just didn’t add up to what he felt from Talyn and his core. But he was also letting it lie for now, waiting until he had some time with just Talyn to talk it over. He just felt like Talyn might tell him something if it was just the two of them.

“Crixus said she tried for him and Agron as well but they were able to move enough to get out of the way,” Naevia commented.

“I picked up on there being a threat from her but picked up too late on what she was going for and we didn’t have the best amount of room to move around in. Besides, any more than what I did would likely have given me away for being able to sense something.”

“It’s not a big deal. All things considered it was the best possible outcome we could have asked for only having one serious slip-up with that plan we just threw together yesterday. Honestly, it shouldn’t have gone as well as it did.”

Agron frowned at Naevia, not completely buying her condolences but appreciating them nonetheless. He looked over to Talyn, who he still felt he had failed, and the smaller man gave him a slight smile and shrugged it off.

He was still going to talk it over with Talyn once they got the chance.

“Anyway, Ilithyia’s husband, Gaius Glaber is the Berserker and Aura Chimera. Talk about someone to watch in terms of brute force.” Duro looked thoughtful for a few seconds before turning his attention to Talyn again. “You know if being a Chimera means anything to how long a Berserker core can be completely active for, if it’s another one that the additional core gives a boost?”

Talyn considered his answer for a few seconds and even when he started signing his answer, he didn’t seem to be full of confidence.

Naevia didn’t look too thrilled either as she let him finish before she translated. “Depends on the other core’s disposition. And he’d have to look specifically for the combinations we’re looking at here to say what effects the cores have on each other based on people actually offering up the details for records and research.” Talyn let her finish before he continued and Naevia laughed. “And he’s not actually here to know all the random shit. We have access to the same reference material he has.”

“Yeah, but you might have actually read it. The P.P.O. is severely lacking in grand libraries of all this research shit since most of what we do is conducted off-site. We have to rely on what you guys have.” Duro’s tone and expression were as close as he got to a pout and Agron gave a smirk. “There are a few that have been around enough to have picked up a lot of this ‘random shit’ but we’ve got to learn as we go.”

Talyn just crossed his arms and gave the Valkyrie a pointed look.

Duro gave a nervous chuckle and added, “And that’s just what we’ll do. I didn’t mean that I wouldn’t do it. I like reading. And I know Agron won’t do it so someone has to be the smart one between us.”

Duro yelped as Agron kicked his shin under the table and then glared at him.

“We only have two left to go over. Can we please finish?” Agron demanded then exhaled and muttered, “Fuck the gods.” It was something his dad used to say and he ended up saying it when he was really frustrated.

“Just the other co-owners, right?” Naevia asked with a smile. “Back to Lucretia and her husband Quintus.”

“Quintus Batiatus, Elemental and Esper,” Duro said after hitting the arrow keys to get to the correct profile. He then hit it a few more times and read off, “Lucretia Batiatus, Telepath, Siren, and Spectre.”

“Great, a Siren means someone else who can affect people’s minds. At least it isn’t as potent as the Djinn.”

“Sirens tend to be the weakest of those though, only being able to use their voice. If they don’t have the power to back up what they’re trying to get out of the person and don’t find the right way to word it, it doesn’t work.” Agron had been on the receiving end of a Siren trying to influence him and, while uncomfortable, it had been easy enough for him to shrug off. And just knowing she was a Siren was enough to weaken her influence even more. “And being an Esper isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I’ve never met one that can move anything significant or easily. Just moving things with your mind seems to be something that doesn’t connect well with people, like it’s unnatural in a way that having a core just can’t balance.” Agron had worked with a Deva Esper a few years ago and had been far from impressed by what she had been capable of even when she was considered one of the best Espers in the world. “And at least she’s a Telepath and not a Reader. Merely able to create a line of communication between minds isn’t nearly as dangerous to us as being able to read our thoughts.”

“So, what’s a Spectre?” Duro asked. “Never even heard of that one before.”

Naevia shrugged as did Agron. When they looked back to Talyn, he was deep in thought. He made a quick sign before he reached for the laptop and turned it back towards himself and started working on it, Agron seeing him switching between a few windows before he started reading. He looked over to Naevia and when she noticed his gaze she gave him a short, “Hold on.”

He figured that should have been more obvious to him.

A minute or so later, Talyn reached over to tap Agron on the arm and pushed the laptop a little closer to him so he could indicate where he should read, Agron leaning over a little to see a block of text under the header “Spectre”. He read through it quickly and let out a sigh when he finished at what they were going to be dealing with when it came to Lucretia.

“It’s another disposition that affects perception and decision-making. It’s uncentered, about as rare as Ouroboros with likely less than one percent of users having it. This one is pretty devious but it only affects users.”

“To affect perception and control people?” Naevia asked with a frown.

“Yeah. It alters the discharge of the target’s core as it flows back through the body, altering the body’s chemistry. They can make it increase adrenaline, dopamine, endorphins, testosterone, estrogen, pretty much anything if they figure out how. And the target’s body can get used to that difference and require them to go through long-term treatment to stabilize them again, possibly requiring medication for the rest of their lives along with the risk of permanent mood instability and many end up suffering from mental illness.”

Duro and Naevia were staring at him in shock, his brother recovering first to declare, “That’s fucked up.”

“There hasn’t been a Spectre on record that hasn’t been classified an Oni. They always take it too far, cause damage to people using their abilities. Doesn’t mean they all end up Oni, just that all the ones on record have.”

“Please tell me they at least require physical contact for it to work.”

Agron double-checked before he nodded with a sigh of relief. “It’ll still be shit to deal with. Hell, this isn’t any nicer of an accumulation of dispositions than it was when Crixus listed them off a few hours ago. How the fuck did they get all this together without anyone getting curious at the least?”

Naevia shrugged slightly. “As far as we can tell, their records don’t indicate that they did anything before they started taking out agents and Devas. They laid low right up until their first strike against us. We had nothing to put our attention on them and now we’re a few steps behind.”

“I can’t even bring myself to think the ones Spartacus and Talyn already took out were much use to them,” Duro groused and Agron found that he agreed. Despite that Spartacus said the ones they’d already killed were strong enough to be a challenge, it felt like they’d only dealt with cannon fodder. Skilled cannon fodder but people meant to die nonetheless.

“I guess we hope for Spartacus’ report getting us a few more people onboard,” Naevia said even though she didn’t sound very confident. And she knew the area much better than Agron did.

“Hope for the best. Expect and plan for the worst,” Agron said something both of his parents had hammered into him from as early as he could remember. He’d learned early on how valuable of a lesson that had been.

* * *

Very little else ended up being accomplished that day. Spartacus and Crixus had compiled their report to send to the higher ups but then Spartacus had needed to take care of some responsibilities as a Master of a division, leaving Agron and Duro to their own devices for the rest of the afternoon. And Talyn had gone off somewhere with Naevia and Crixus when they had left so they didn’t even have him around to help keep them occupied.

They’d ended up reading up more on the dispositions they’d be facing against, especially the ones they hadn’t before as well as looking at how the Chimera core combinations they were against had been recorded to influence each other. That alone was pretty fascinating to actually look at, Agron had discovered.

Even after returning to the house, Spartacus had kept working in his office and Naevia had brought Talyn home a few hours after they all ate dinner. It meant that Agron didn’t get the chance he’d wanted to talk with Talyn. He figured they would get their chance in the morning before they really got going for the day.

At least he hoped so. He wanted to talk with Talyn about this but he also didn’t want to lose ground with the other man with them getting along.

Duro was familiar enough with him that he picked up on his unrest but probably wasn’t sure what he was upset about or he’d be teasing him. After all, Duro had found out long ago that not knowing what to tease his brother about just got him pissed about multiple things and that wasn’t as fun to deal with.

They’d all went to bed hoping for tomorrow to bring some answer as to how they would proceed from there.

It was Agron’s Paladin instincts that woke him up just after one in the morning. Something was wrong, a threat to the people around him and he was immediately on guard to deal with it. He was sitting up and reaching for the short blade he’d been strapping to his back the past two days as Duro woke up, either from Agron’s movement or from the slight boost in instincts he got through their affinity. He looked over toward Agron who gave him a pointed look and he reached for a pair of long knives he tended to use when it was close quarters like this.

Duro came up next to him and he whispered, “See if you can find whatever it is downstairs. I’ll check on everyone.”

“Don’t get shot,” Duro warned.

Agron didn’t want to really admit that he’d let it slip his mind just enough that this was a house that it could very well happen: Spartacus conceal carried a gun like Talyn did. If he startled them or they didn’t notice it was him in time, he could get shot for making sure they were safe.

But he’d be able to pick up on them doing that faster than Duro could so it was better for this to be how they handled it and Agron had to make sure they were alright.

Duro walked past him and eased the door open. They didn’t close it all the way as a habit to save them sound and so all he had to do was push it enough for them to slip through.

Talyn would be first, his room being practically across the hall. Agron stayed low and stepped carefully, working around the few creaks in the floor he knew about. He was larger than Duro and it was harder for him to move with stealth and he didn’t want to tap into his core – which he could use to control his motions and pull off the stealth just a bit better – but he didn’t want to tap into any enhancements from his core unless he had to.

So he crossed the hall at an angle toward Talyn’s door, which was closed as it was pretty much all the time. Agron pressed on the handle gently until he heard the latch release and he pushed the door open. The room was pitch black and so Agron tapped into his core ever so slightly to improve his vision so he could make out the room.

A low growl nearly startled him into reacting but he managed to catch himself and he relaxed, lowering his blade to this side as he realized that there was no way Talyn wasn’t okay. Roma was on guard, which confirmed that there was something in there to worry about, but she likely also would have made more noise if something had opened the door.

“Roma, it’s alright,” he whispered and took a chance by holding out his hand with the palm up, picking up on the dog’s motion from across the room where he could see the outline of a bed. She moved toward him slowly, her head lowered. “Good girl,” he said, letting her hear his voice again and he saw her ears perk up toward him and her head lifted a bit. “You looking after Talyn? That’s a good dog.” She was close enough and sniffed at his hand before giving his fingers a quick lick but he could tell she was still tense.

He was about to tell her to stay when he saw more movement within the room and looked up to see the outline of Talyn sitting up on his bed. Good, he was a light sleeper too. He pushed the blanket off himself and stood, padding quietly over to Agron, reaching for Roma’s back when he was close enough and then keeping his hand on her as she sat and looked up at him, likely for a command. He pointed toward the floor and she laid down and turned to stare intently past Agron, her ears pointed toward the house.

Agron moved into the room a bit, getting close to Talyn so he could whisper to him. “There’s a threat in the house. Duro’s checking downstairs. I haven’t checked on Spartacus and Sura yet. Stay here with Roma until we’re clear.”

Talyn reached for him then, grabbing the wrist of the hand holding his sword and squeezed. He was giving Agron a look he couldn’t quite figure out the meaning for.

Talyn’s muteness was a disadvantage right now. They didn’t have time for Talyn to literally spell everything out and Agron didn’t understand anything else.

Then he realized that Talyn was probably giving the same resistance Agron would if he’d been told to stay behind, especially when Agron had admitted he didn’t know for sure if Spartacus and Sura were alright. They were Talyn’s family and there would be no way Agron would stay put if he had no idea what shape Duro was in when there was danger.

He reached out with his free hand, taking a chance by going for physical contact when they no longer had the act of being a couple, and rested his hand on Talyn’s shoulder, feeling the warm skin of Talyn’s shoulder as he was only wearing a loose tank top, unlike the long-sleeve shirts that seemed to be the norm during the day. When his touch wasn’t refused, Agron took another chance and slid his hand up to cup the back of Talyn’s neck under the fall of his loose hair and used the hold to guide Talyn closer so his mouth was right at the man’s ear.

“The more bodies we have wandering in the dark, the more chance for a mistake. Duro’s my brother; we have an affinity. I know when it’s him around a corner. I don’t want to hurt you because I’m not familiar enough with you to know better.” He wondered if he’d maybe revealed a bit too much there, given away that he was becoming way more attached than a few days should have allowed with Talyn but on some level he just didn’t care. If that sort of honesty meant Talyn kept safe, he’d deal with that. “You can see Spartacus’ door from here?” He waited for Talyn to nod. “I’ll clear the room first then wave you over. Tell him what’s going on if he doesn’t know. Will Roma stay with you?” He moved away enough to make eye contact and Talyn gave another nod.

Agron squeezed slightly at Talyn’s neck, hoping it came across as comforting, before he pulled away and moved down the hall towards the master bedroom.

Again, he carefully opened the door, looking around what he could see before he stood upright so he could see onto the bed.

Both Spartacus and Sura were in the bed but Spartacus’ blue eyes were open, alert, and trained right on Agron. Agron recognized that the man was keeping a protective position over the one person in the house not trained to fight. He rose his left hand to give a quick acknowledging wave to Spartacus before he looked back down the hall and nodded Talyn forward. There was a short pause before Roma’s sleek form trotted out of Talyn’s room and down the hall past Agron and into Spartacus’ room. Talyn followed behind, his smaller form moving quickly and quietly after the dog and Agron caught sight of the gun he held in his right hand as he passed Agron into the room. Agron turned back toward Spartacus and held out his hand, indicating for them to stay there. Spartacus gave a brief nod before he drummed his fingers against the bed a few times, Talyn turning toward the sound and they began signing back and forth.

Agron left them on their own as he made his way downstairs.

Duro was in the dining area, he noted, so he turned left once he finished descending the stairs, making sure he still checked the corners before heading right for his brother.

Duro was crouched behind one of the chairs, looking out the window toward the backyard. Agron moved in right next to him, kneeling beside him.

“It’s Nemetes,” Duro whispered once he was settled.

Well fuck, no wonder Agron’s instincts were going crazy. Locked doors and an alarm meant jack shit to this guy.

“They’re alright?” Duro asked him with a quick glance up.

“All fine. Spartacus was awake. And I told Talyn to stay back so I didn’t mistake anyone else moving around down here for an enemy.”

Duro actually scoffed at that. “Bullshit. You’re just still edgy about fucking up earlier letting Ilithyia touch him.”

“Not now Duro,” he growled. “You think he’s been in the house yet?”

“When I saw him, he was looking in the window of the office. I think he’s getting a layout. Warps need to have seen where they’re going for it to work.”

“Then he shouldn’t be able to get upstairs. There’s nowhere with a clear sight to the second floor and no balconies for him to Warp to and get a view. You’re at the top of the stairs. That’s as close as he’ll be able to get with his core.”

“And where do you think you’re going all by your lonesome?”

“Out to negotiate.”

Duro rolled his eyes at that. “Right. But if I hear anything, I’m coming out to help.”

Agron knew it was pointless to try and tell Duro otherwise so he simply turned and headed toward the front door. He entered the code Spartacus had given him for the alarm system, then walked past the front door and toward Spartacus’ office where there was large window he would be able to see plenty of the yard from as well as climb out of easily. He stayed low, not worrying so much about keeping quiet since he knew there was no one inside, but there were still quite a few windows where Nemetes would be able to look in and see him.

When he reached the window in the office, the shade over it drawn and so he pushed it aside enough to start scanning the yard, relying mostly on his Paladin instincts to tell him that he was closer to the danger than actually seeing Nemetes. Once he cleared one side, he went to the other side of the window and did the same with the other half. Nemetes had to be around the back of the house.

He pushed the shade up enough that he would fit out and then slid the window open and stepped out, his long legs allowing him to keep his feet on the floor and then the ground without having to drop down at all.

He moved toward the back of the house, staying close to the building and peeking around carefully, still seeing so sign of the Oni. He hoped that him leaving the house hadn’t been what Nemetes was waiting for to go inside but he also didn’t feel any more threat to Duro so he figured that wasn’t the case.

It was also around now that Agron remembered that Nemetes was a Chimera, a Dragon but they didn’t know the element he controlled. There wasn’t any running water around the house and Agron couldn’t see any indicators of a fire so either he didn’t work with those elements or he wasn’t going to rely on that disposition. All he had to be was a skilled Warp and he’d be able to avoid Agron’s attacks as long as his power held out.

He came to the corner that led to the opposite side of the house than he’d come out on, the side that extended out from the garage and he was about to look around the corner when his instincts flared and he knew he’d finally found Nemetes, even though it also seemed that the Oni knew he was there.

He just needed to get an eye on him and that would be all he needed to get an attack in.

Agron took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, relaxing his shoulders and reversing the grip on his sword so it lined up along his forearm, the tip extending just past his elbow. It would be a little safer for him to move evasively with it like this.

He was about to move out when his instincts flared again and he reacted, leaping out from behind the cover of the building just before there was a loud crash just behind him and he hear the cracking of wood. He landed with a roll and came up to his knees, looking back to the corner of the house to see a huge gap where he’d been, a boulder a few feet away.

Great, a Titan of a Dragon. Nothing like being able to control an element that had plenty of material to work with. And with there having been no sound to warn Agron that he’d been getting ready to throw boulders at him, Nemetes must have just been waiting for him. Did that mean he’d seen Agron getting ready to go outside or that he knew that he was a Paladin and would have picked up on the danger of Nemetes being there?

He turned toward where he saw Nemetes and got ready to move again as he saw the Oni kneeled down his hands pressed to the ground, giving him the physical contact he needed with his element to do whatever he wanted.

Fine, Agron would play that game.

He reached out to the core pulsing within his heart, matching the beating of his heart ready to be accessed. His senses immediately sharpened, his eyes tracking every slight movement Nemetes made, and he became hyperaware of how his body was positioned and he shifted his weight forward just a bit to be at his ideal center of balance. He felt a surge of strength that he’d never really gotten used to, knowing that what the Paladin core made him physically capable of shouldn’t be possible, was pushing the limits of what the human body could endure. But then he altered his focus and activated the self-protective aspect, becoming the one thing that kept whatever he did beyond what his body could endure from actually causing damage.

That final switch that kept him alive was one of the main reasons all Paladins and Valkyries were required to be trained through the Protection of the Paladins Organization.

Nemetes seemed to be waiting for him to make a move and Agron again wondered if this guy had any clue what disposition he was fucking with.

A Titan, even a Dragon who could utilize their abilities faster than an Elemental that required physiological motions, was too slow to handle him while tapped into his core.

That thought led him to spring into action, pushing off the ground to propel him forward in a leap at a speed equivalent to someone running at full speed. He brought his right arm in front of him, the blade supported against his forearm so it was less likely to give under the force of the impact.

Nemetes was a skilled Warp, though, as there was a pulse of a dark purple glow and then he was gone.

Agron tucked forward into a roll and came up on his knees again, turning to his left in the same motion and leaped once more, following his instincts of where the threat was.

This time he felt his blade cut into flesh but it wasn’t a solid hit as Nemetes Warped away again barely in time to save his life: Agron had hit low on the chest and if he’d cut any deeper he’d have hit a lung.

Nemetes proved to be adaptive as Agron felt the ground shift beneath his feet while he was turning and he altered his movement to jump away as the ground exploded up where he’d been standing. He hadn’t been able to control his motion enough to get too far away and brought both arms in front of his face to protect against the spray of dirt and rocks that hit him.

There was another rumble and Agron had to leap again just before the ground caved out from under where he’d been. But he’d jumped straight up and so came down on the now rough ground. But it was enough that it seemed to have not been what Nemetes had been expecting and Agron had an opportunity. In one smooth motion he stood up, turning his grip back around on the sword and threw it toward Nemetes, the blade flying through the air at the speed of an arrow from his enhanced strength and Nemetes cried out as it buried into his stomach, penetrating all the way through his body to the hilt.

It shouldn’t kill him as long as he got medical attention. It should hurt like hell enough that he couldn’t concentrate to Warp again. And they just needed enough time to get a seal on him and they’d actually have an Oni in custody to question. And with the Warp core being uncentered, it would have to be a Qilin or Glyph in order to seal the core of concern. Sure, as a Valkyrie, Duro could seal the cardiac centered Dragon core, but that wasn’t the one that would allow Nemetes to escape custody.

Agron was jogging toward Nemetes when he froze at a sudden spike of intense danger toward Duro with the residual awareness of a threat to the others in the house that he didn’t have an affinity with.

Then there was the roar of an explosion on the opposite side of the house and Agron froze in shock.


	8. Searching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Oni's attack on the house hit them hard...

“Motherfucker,” Nemetes growled and Agron’s attention returned to the Oni. His anger flared and he took a few quick steps toward the man and grabbed hold of his neck, squeezing enough to make him choke.

“Who is it?” Agron demanded. When Nemetes just struggled against his hold, Agron reached for the hilt of his sword and pulled the blade from Nemetes’ stomach, then held it up to his throat, relaxing his grip enough to lower his hand out of the way. “I don’t need an answer. I’d just appreciate one. You’re expendable, obviously to both sides of this fight if they’re willing to throw you to us as a mere distraction.”

Nemetes’ eyes widened at that and his struggles against Agron continued. “Fuck you! He’s just an impatient son of a bitch! I wasn’t a distraction!”

“Whatever you say. Now, are you going to stay put and wait for your well-earned seal or are you going to make me slit your throat?”

Nemetes scoffed at him. “You Devas don’t have the balls to kill in cold blood. If it’s not in a fight, you don’t kill Oni.”

Agron gave the Oni a cold smile. “Don’t know many Devas do you?” They did what was necessary to defeat Oni and just tried everything else before killing. “And I’m not a Deva.”

His protective instincts were actually becoming distracting, informing him that there was still a growing danger to Duro and the others inside the house. He needed to finish up with this fucker and help them. At least there hadn’t been any more explosions and it didn’t sound like the house had been compromised by the first one.

“We don’t surrender. Better to die than live out some pointless life as an obsolete human.”

Agron shrugged dismissively. “Then that’s it for negotiations with you.” Nemetes seemed to realize how serious Agron was and his eyes widened just before Agron pushed the blade into Nemetes’ throat and dragged it to the side, slitting deep into his neck and released him to bleed out.

He didn’t hesitate, running around to the front of the house to the door, which was blown in along with a good portion of the entryway. He could already hear sounds of struggle and he followed them upstairs.

He was about halfway up when there was another blast and he was knocked backwards from the shockwave and he rolled down the stairs, landing roughly on his side as he bumped his head against the railing on the way down, making him lose his focus and his activation of his core.

He was sitting up as he heard Spartacus and Duro shouting back and forth from upstairs still but it also sounded like it was coming from down the hall in Spartacus’ office.

Which was just below the master bedroom so it was likely the floor had been blown out.

Agron again tapped into his core and made sure his safeguards were settled before he stood and moved back towards the office. There was a struggle going on inside and Agron nearly shoved the door off the frame when he rushed inside.

Talyn was pinned against the far wall by a man Agron only recognized from his profile picture: Gaius Glaber. The Berserker/Aura Chimera. He had his left hand pressed against Talyn’s chest, a pale blue glow rippling down his arm that Agron recognized as a buildup of the Aura core’s power. His right hand was pulling at Talyn’s left arm, which was fighting back against him even as he alternated kicking out at the man with his legs. He was fighting back intensely and Glaber’s face was covered in blood to prove it.

Agron didn’t waste any time considering if the Oni was tapped into his Berserker core before he charged toward him, grabbing Glaber around the left arm and dropped down under the limb, then rose swiftly with his shoulder under Glaber’s elbow, feeling it snap from the pressure. He then shoved against Glaber’s chest as hard as he could, feeling his ribcage collapse enough to crack in a few places before the man practically flew back across the room and slammed into the wall right next to the door.

As the man took in a few deep breaths and struggled to regain his footing, it was obvious that he was tapped into his Berserker core to not react to the level of pain he should be in after that beating.

Agron crouched slightly, holding his blade out in front of him as he angled his body to stand pointedly between Glaber and Talyn.

Glaber had just regained his balance when he staggered back from the sudden impact of a thrown knife in his shoulder. Agron glanced up to look through the hole in the ceiling and saw Duro holding a second knife at the ready while Spartacus trained his gun on Glaber.

Something was different about Spartacus’ expression. He looked cold, closed off and Agron got the feeling it wasn’t just how the man looked while in combat. Something was wrong and his instincts supported the thought as some of the danger he picked up on came from Spartacus.

“Spartacus?” Agron called up to the man.

He felt Talyn move behind him, try to step around him but Agron reached back with his free hand and grabbed hold of Talyn’s hip to keep him positioned behind him.

“He hit Sura,” Spartacus said in a tight voice. “Tapped into his Berserker core, he hit Sura.”

Depending on where he hit her, it wouldn’t take much for that to have potentially killed her.

Talyn was trying harder to get around him and Agron was struggling to stay in front of the smaller man while keeping his attention on Glaber and Spartacus. But he just knew that he had to make sure Talyn was kept away from the Oni. And Glaber was looking like he was ready to attack regardless of the gun trained on him. He looked furious to be as injured as he was and he would be running out of time as the Berserker core only gave a few minutes of increased strength and the numbness to pain.

“And we’ve got him,” Agron said. “Why don’t you give Duro the gun and you can make sure she’s alright.”

“She wasn’t moving,” the Deva replied, his voice eerily calm.

“It doesn’t mean she’s dead. We have him covered, his Berserker core should be running dry anytime, and we don’t have time for this.”

“We’re better off making sure he’s not a problem anymore!” Spartacus exclaimed and Agron saw him step closer to the hole out of the corner of his eye.

Devas were allowed to kill Oni for the sake of protection but acting in revenge didn’t sit well with the organization. They had to be able to back all the actions of their fighters and Spartacus was pushing that line by allowing his emotions to run away with him. If he killed Glaber out of revenge – especially if Sura wasn’t dead – it could mean him being bumped down in his Deva rank or even removed from the organization with a potential for further disciplinary measures being taken.

If his actions didn’t track, he could be labeled as an Oni himself.

Talyn was likely fighting to get around him because he knew that and wanted to keep Spartacus from doing something he’d regret.

“You’re a fucking Deva Master. Act like it!” Agron bit out, trying for anything to snap Spartacus back to his senses.

“Once they attacked my home and wife, it’s not about being a Deva!”

Talyn suddenly shifted the pressure he was putting on Agron, reaching around to his opposite hand and pulling the short sword out of Agron’s grip as he sidestepped out from behind Agron and charged toward Glaber, the Oni tensing at the threat. As Talyn stepped in close, Glaber reached for him with his still functioning right arm, a buildup of Aura power rippling around his limb, but Talyn ducked underneath the attack and brought the hilt straight up to knock against the underside of Glaber’s chin and he was knocked back. He reached behind him to catch his fall, simply reacting but it also meant that the charge of power in his arm was released once he came in contact with the wall behind him. The wall exploded out from the Aura’s power and Agron covered his face with his arms to keep his vision clear of any debris hitting him.

The room was filled with a plume of dust, making it difficult to see for a few seconds. When it started to clear, Agron immediately sought out Talyn. He saw him a few feet from where he’d been standing when he attacked Glaber. Talyn had been knocked over and he rolled to his left side to push himself up. Agron was jogging toward the smaller man before it really registered that he was moving.

There were two gunshots and Agron instinctually kneeled down and wrapped his arms protectively over Talyn’s head and upper body despite not feeling the danger being directed toward them.

Actually, the sensation of danger was fading. It wasn’t the same as the source being knocked unconscious and when it was a matter of them being killed, it was a sudden absence of the feeling. But this wasn’t like either of those.

Glaber was retreating.

That or another of the Oni were there and they were getting him out of there and Agron didn’t feel them because they didn’t intend to fight. It was one of the holes of his defensive instincts but it wasn’t the priority right now. What mattered was that they were no longer in danger and they could regroup.

He coughed a few times as he relaxed his grip on Talyn, sitting up even as he kept a hand on Talyn’s arm while he checked the smaller man for injuries. A few cuts along his arms, neck, and face where his skin was exposed, his hair disheveled, and he looked angry or frustrated, Agron couldn’t really tell for sure which one.

Satisfied that Talyn was safe, Agron looked up toward the gaping hole and while there was still plenty of dust in the air, he could see Duro and Spartacus standing next to each other. Duro’s hand was gripping the gun and it was obvious he’d kept Spartacus from firing any more than he had, possibly even having knocked his aim off when he’d fired.

Agron felt like he wasn’t where he needed to be even if he didn’t want to separate from Talyn. He suppressed that instinct and stood up, Talyn grabbing onto his forearm and following the motion to stand as well, dark eyes peering up at Spartacus as well.

“Duro,” he called to his brother and then waved him down when he focused on him.

Duro nodded and let go of Spartacus. He then walked up to the edge of the broken floor and stepped forward to drop down, landing smoothly a few feet away from Agron and Talyn.

“Just stay with Talyn. Don’t worry about taking any sort of perimeter. We keep in sight of each other.”

“You got it,” Duro replied. He glanced up at Spartacus then back to Agron and lowered his voice. “I have no idea if she’s alive. He knocked her back to the other side of the bed out of sight. He threw Roma back there too but I don’t think he was tapped into his Berserker core at the time. I think I heard her whine but I wasn’t really focused there.”

“Got it. Do you still have your core active?” Duro’s endurance wasn’t as good as Agron’s and he tended to fluctuate how much of his power he was accessing as was needed; he was reasonably more precise and faster with his core than Agron was.

“Yeah, once I activated, I left it constant. I didn’t want to miss something and have someone else get hurt. I was jumping down when you came in.”

“Keep it active. Nemetes is dead. Have the Devas been alerted?”

“Yeah. Should be here any minute.”

Agron nodded and checked to make sure his angle was right before he bent down just enough that his still enhanced strength would get him up to the second floor with a solid jump and then he jumped. He caught the edge of the destroyed beams running along the floor and pulled himself up the rest of the way into what was left of the master bedroom. He stood up and walked the short distance to Spartacus, who was looking over toward the bed with a blank expression.

Agron reached for the man, smacking his arm casually to get his attention. “Secure that before you shoot something you really don’t want to.”

Spartacus looked down at the gun in his hand, seeming to still be in shock and Agron left him to get over it. The man was a Deva and his mind would catch up, his training would kick in, and he’d be alright. Agron could get some answers though.

Fuck, he hoped they were good answers.

He rounded the corner of the bed, the mattress askew and hanging halfway off the box springs. He didn’t see Sura or Roma at first but then he kneeled down and saw that Roma was laying down flat underneath the edge of where the mattress was hanging. She was awake and watching him carefully, still guarding, her breathing shallow and pained.

Agron reached out for her, waiting for her to sniff at his hand and for her body language to change to indicate that she recognized him and wouldn’t attack him. She sniffed at him a few times and then let out a soft whine as her body shifted to the side for her to lay down in a more relaxed position. He scratched at her head as he praised her, “That’s a good girl. Good dog. You watching over Sura under there?”

He got another whine and he reached up for the mattress and pushed it further back onto the box spring to reveal Sura laying sprawled on her stomach. Agron couldn’t help the hesitation in checking her pulse.

He didn’t want her to be dead.

She was pale and Agron didn’t see any blood but that didn’t mean much when it was a hit from a Berserker in question: it was about the internal damage with that being the case.

He took in a deep breath and slid forward so he was next to her hip and he touched his hand to her shoulder, then slid his fingers around her wrist to feel for her pulse.

He thought he felt one but he couldn’t be sure.

So he moved his fingers to the side of her neck and made sure he stopped moving the rest of his body so there would be no mistaking.

There it was. A little weak and she was definitely seriously hurt but she was still alive. And the Devas had been called and there would be a Regen with them and they could start helping her recover.

He sat upright and looked over the mattress toward Spartacus who was looking toward him intently.

He was speaking practically before he even got eyes on Spartacus, “She’s alive. Get over here and we’ll see if we can be careful enough to move her without causing her any more damage.

Agron didn’t blame the tears he saw on Spartacus’ cheeks as they maneuvered Sura into her husband’s arms so he could carry her downstairs and outside where they could meet the Regens as soon as they arrived.

* * *

Talyn was sitting on the ground with Roma laying down next to his right side, her head resting on his thigh as he absently pet her head, watching the emergency responders move through the house and around the property. One of the Regens had taken a moment to see to the dog, setting her fractured hip and healing her enough that she shouldn’t need to have a cast put on but was still recommended to take her to the vet in the morning to get looked at since the Regen was used to healing humans and not dogs and she could have missed something.

Luckily, Glaber hadn’t actually hit her with his Berserker strength or she would have likely been killed.

But she was tired and sore and taking whatever comfort she could get, especially since Spartacus and Sura had left in an ambulance within minutes of it arriving, once it had been confirmed that no one else besides Sura needed serious treatment.

And Sura would be alright. She’d be in the hospital for the next week or so but she would heal and be alright in the end. They hadn’t lost her.

Agron walked toward Talyn, moving like he was much more confident than he felt. Talyn hadn’t really engaged with any of them once the danger had passed and he’d been keeping his distance from everyone. There had been one Deva that had approached him, signing with him briefly before they left him alone and no one had tried talking with him since. They had taken Agron and Duro’s statement, getting a clear understanding of what they had witnessed but it wasn’t everything.

Nothing that Duro had seen, being with Talyn the entire time, explained what Agron had seen when he got to the office. If Glaber had wanted to kill Talyn, he had the perfect opportunity. Instead, it had looked like he’d been using his Aura power to threaten Talyn into submission. It hadn’t been working but that didn’t change that it was what it looked like.

Agron already had things he wanted to ask Talyn about and now he just felt more compelled to get it over with. He had to get answers if he was going to protect Talyn like he wanted to. Because that instinct was getting stronger at an alarming rate.

Agron almost sat down next to Talyn but then realized that facing directly toward him would be the easiest way to communicate with him. It was only fair to try and make what was likely going to be a tough conversation easier in some way.

He stood in front of Talyn for a few seconds until the smaller man let out a sigh and pulled his legs closer to himself, crossing them so Agron could sit closer. Roma picked up her head at the change in position but then put her head right back on his thigh once he stopped moving, her tail giving a lazy thump against the ground. Agron sat down, mirroring Talyn’s position by crossing his legs in front of him and moving in close enough that his knees were brushing against Talyn’s.

“Are you okay? You got checked by the Regens, right?” Agron had to ask first.

Talyn looked up at him briefly before his eyes dropped right back down to the ground between them and he nodded slightly.

“I need to talk to you about some things. I don’t want to push you but what’s happened in the last twenty-four hours is making me feel like I need to ask. I just want to make sure I can protect you.” He received a scathing look from dark eyes for that and he figured he knew why. “I’m a Paladin. Me wanting to protect you has nothing to do with your capabilities and everything to do with what my core basically exists for. I have the same protective nature toward Duro and he’s received as much training as I have and watches my back as much as I watch his.” That seemed to help Talyn let his frustration pass. “I didn’t realize there was a second Oni until he was attacking you guys and I felt the threat to Duro. And when I get in there, he’s attacking you when Duro and Spartacus aren’t too far away and armed. Why?”

Talyn watched him while he spoke, then let out a weary sigh when Agron asked him straight up what he needed to know. Because the “why” was all that it came down to.

Talyn lifted his hand and pointed to his eyes, then turned his hand so his fingers were pointing away from him and then rotated them side-to-side briefly.

“Looking?” Agron guessed. “What was he looking for?”

Talyn paused again for long enough that Agron became sure he wasn’t going to answer. But then he sat upright and moved his left arm so it was draped across his lap, curling his shoulder forward a bit to bring what Agron hadn’t noticed covering the length of his bicep and up over the bend of his shoulder: a tattoo. And just when he was about to question Talyn further, he realized that he recognized the mark: it was what was drawn on the paper Donar had given Spartacus.

Donar had said they were looking for whoever had that mark but didn’t know why. They were looking for Talyn.

“Why?” he found himself repeating the question. “I mean why are they looking for you? You aren’t a user so what good are you to them?”

Talyn raised his left hand up into the position Agron recognized spell out what he wanted to say.

S-e-a-l. N-o-t. T-a-t-t-o-o.

“What the fuck do you mean ‘seal’?”

There’s no way. If Talyn was saying what Agron thought he was talking about, those kinds of things were borderline illegal to use. They were dangerous and there’s no way the Devas would just let him keep one and employ him to boot.

Talyn pointed to the markings and then spelled out slowly and intently, maintaining eye contact: s-e-a-l.

“It’s a seal? You used that sort of seal? What the fuck were you thinking using something like that instead of going to a Qilin or even a fucking Glyph. A Glyph would seal you and even make a tattoo out of it. Having to get an annual seal booster _has_ to be better than one of those things.”

Talyn was frowning but looked like he was struggling with something. His eyes were darting between Agron and his hands and Agron got frustrated with himself when he realized that Talyn was probably getting upset by not being able to talk freely to Agron, that he was limited to literally spelling things out and here Agron was asking for details of what might be a complicated issue.

He rubbed his hands over his face as he let out a heavy sigh. “Fuck, there has to be an easier way for us to talk until I get better about signing.”

Talyn’s eyes fixed on him, surprise now obvious in his expression.

“What, you thought that was enough to get me to bail on you or something?” Talyn focused his eyes down on Roma as his hand rested on her neck, scratching around her collar absently. “Everybody’s got their secrets and their reasons for keeping them. It’s just that those types of seals, markings, tattoos, whatever, they’re dangerous. They don’t only affect cores but have been known to inhibit the body’s natural functions. I’m not some specialist on them but I know that people have died because of how those marks have interacted with their systems.”

Talyn spelled out “effect” and waved his finger across his throat in a cutting motion that was easy enough to figure out.

“It’s why you’re mute. You sure that’s the only side-effect it has on you?”

Talyn made the sign for the number seven and then tapped his chest.

“You were sealed when you were seven?” Agron asked, shocked. “How’d you find someone willing to do this to you when you were seven?”

Talyn tapped at his temple a few times and Agron rolled his eyes at what he was obviously communicating.

Agron shifted his position, leaning forward so he could move up to kneel and then reached out for Talyn’s arm. “May I?” he asked, pausing in his approach. Talyn shrugged and extended his left arm out to Agron. The Paladin wrapped his hand around Talyn’s bicep, curling his fingers around the bottom of his arm to hold it up as he looked closely at the thick intersecting lines twisting along his skin. He could tell where there had been stretching from Talyn growing up but he knew enough about these things that whoever had done it had known what to do to make sure the seal didn’t break simply because he didn’t take into consideration it was being put on someone who was far from full-grown.

He was suddenly curious. He activated his core, not worrying about activating his self-defensive aspects since he wasn’t going to be using anything that would put him at risk. Keeping his left hand under Talyn’s arm to hold it in place, he placed his right hand over the center of the mark.

Paladins weren’t sensitive to seeing or feeling cores themselves. They had a level of awareness of cores of those they had an affinity with but that was the norm for any disposition. And he didn’t have an affinity with Talyn – with the other man’s core sealed, he couldn’t form an affinity with him either regardless of any mutual emotions that might develop between them – but he might be able to pick up something that told him that the muteness was in fact the only inhibition the seal placed on Talyn. After all, a threat was a threat no matter where it came from.

And Agron did feel something, felt the influence the mark had on Talyn’s body and after thinking over all the sensations he was now aware of, subtle and not surprising that he hadn’t noticed it before now, he realized that everything coming off of the mark was flowing right into Talyn’s arm and nowhere else.

“Wait, is it an uncentered core?” Agron realized and Talyn nodded.

That might have been why the mark was affecting him so little, all the power was being restricted to the arm as it was. From what Agron remembered about these things, like a Glyph seal, they had to be placed right over the core. For cores centered in the heart or either hemisphere of the brain that meant they were on the head or chest where they could interfere with other parts of the body. But with the core held in place beneath the tattoo in his left arm, it was kept in a place where it wouldn’t interfere. And the markings up at the shoulder were thicker and Agron wondered if the point of those lines had been to keep the core there while the rest of the seal had been tattooed. And how close it came to Talyn’s neck might explain why the only way he was affected was being unable to speak.

He might not be any kind of a specialist on the subject but that didn’t mean basics of cores stopped applying. And this was just a different kind of seal, old school and rudimentary as it was.

“What the hell kind of disposition are you hiding that made you feel like you had to seal it at seven?” Agron mused, not really asking for the sake of getting an answer. And it didn’t really matter because this sort of seal would require severe disfigurement to be broken. Talyn was sealed for life.

The idea was practically foreign, there always being a way to remove a seal when performed by a Qilin, Valkyrie, Glyph, Ouroboros, or any of the other dispositions that could create some manner of seal. They all had to be reset eventually, the longest Agron had ever heard one lasting being eighteen months before it started to fail.

“Did Glaber get a good look at it?” Agron asked.

Talyn shook his head and Agron smiled.

“Remind me to never try and pin you. You’re more of a wild little dog than Roma there.”

Talyn glowered at him. But then his expression softened and he eased his arm out of Agron’s touch but then held them out, indicating for Agron to wait. He then held up his right hand and spelled out “name”, then he extended the index and middle fingers of both hands in the position used for the letter “h” and then tapped the sides of the fingers of one hand against the other and then gave Agron an expectant look. Agron nodded that he understood.

Talyn then placed his hand flat over his chest, then repeated the sign and held up his hand and spelled out a word slowly, making sure Agron caught each letter clearly.

_My name is Nasir._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nasir telling Agron his name in canon is what I've always considered one of the most important moments for Nasir's character (if I'm not mistaken, he is the only character given a name by the Romans that he didn't just keep going by, being the only one to return to his real name after being freed), let alone their relationship so I couldn't NOT have that moment here. ^_^  
> Hope the chapter was enjoyed and I'll see you guys next Saturday.


	9. Seal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Checking in after the attack, taking stock of where they all stand, of what their next move will be...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You have no idea how much of a relief it was to be able to start writing Nasir's name in reference to him. It was difficult, especially when it came to emotional scenes with Agron. My brain was screaming "HIS NAME IS NASIR!!" and I know I caught some instances of my brain winning out in that regard when I was editing :D  
> Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Agron wondered if it was dangerous for him to be so focused on one person. Sure, he didn’t think he would miss a threat being directed toward them but that didn’t mean he could only rely on those senses. After all, last night had reminded him that there were holes in his defense.

He couldn’t help it though and he figured he could let his guard down a little being at the hospital as they were. So, he let his attention be focused completely on Nasir.

Nasir, not Talyn.

He was being careful to drill that name into his head in connection to the younger man, which wasn’t as difficult as he’d imagined since he thought this name somehow suited him better. And he wasn’t worried about blurting out the wrong name to someone Nasir hadn’t trusted with this truth: Agron was used to curbing what he said for the sake of secrecy.

Because he had no illusions about how important it was between them that Nasir had given his real name. Agron understood that it was probably as great of a show of trust as the other man gave anyone.

He hadn’t been able to dismiss the thought from regularly popping up as to how many people Nasir had told, who exactly knew this truth about him. Hell, he hadn’t even told Duro and he didn’t plan to; it wasn’t his place to tell anyone, not even his brother. Duro would understand.

They were waiting for Spartacus to come out and give them an update on Sura. Then they could decide what they were going to do. Because they’d officially lost the option of taking a casual approach. Spartacus’ home was wrecked, needing pretty significant repairs, his wife was in the hospital, and they’d only taken out one of the two Oni that had attacked.

And there was the possibility that they knew Nasir was the one they were looking for. Just because he’d said Glaber didn’t see the seal didn’t mean he actually hadn’t and Agron tended to plan for the worst-case scenario.

Duro had called Naevia and told her about the attack and her and Crixus were expected any minute. Duro was currently calling Donar, warning him that he should watch his back just in case they somehow tracked their activity back to him.

Agron hoped a skilled Reader on guard made for a near impossibility to get the jump on.

Roma pushed her nose into Agron’s hand and he startled a bit before giving in and scratching the top of her head. They’d brought her to the vet on the way over, getting her checked out. Thankfully, she wasn’t seriously hurt and the Regen had done a good job healing her so she was just stiff, the Regen working at the vet’s office giving her a bit more of a healing touch before releasing her.

She was practically glued to Nasir’s side and had been since last night, which didn’t surprise Agron since the young man was the only one of her family that was still around and she was hurt and probably still reeling from the attack more than they were. When she had followed them into the hospital, the receptionist had tried to make them take her back outside but Agron and Nasir had both pulled out identification for their respective organizations and that had been enough for the woman to let the dog inside. There weren’t many people in the waiting room anyway and Roma wasn’t bothering anyone so Agron figured that wouldn’t change.

It was officially an abuse of their positions but it was a relatively harmless one so even if it got back to any higher ups, he didn’t expect it to mean any more than a refresher on the policies regarding appropriate use of their identification.

The door leading back to the intensive care area opened and Spartacus walked out, looking exhausted. Which was fair; none of them had gotten any more sleep and they were all tired and they hadn’t been with a loved one in the hospital. He did focus once his eyes landed on them though and Agron was relieved that he seemed to have recovered his composure. This was the collected man that Agron had become familiar with so quickly.

The Deva crossed the room in a few long strides and he reached out to pull Nasir to his feet and into a tight hug, the smaller man letting out a short gasp but slowly and gently returned the embrace once he caught up to what had happened.

“I’m sorry,” Spartacus whispered. “I was supposed to help keep you safe but left you exposed because Sura got hurt.” Nasir gave as much of a shrug as he could while still being hugged. “Don’t give me that. I promised you and I shouldn’t have lost sight of that.”

Agron felt like he should help out since Spartacus seemed intent on not accepting Nasir’s dismissal of there being any blame to place. “Sura’s your wife. I doubt he’ll fault you for loving her. Maybe if you let him go and let him really answer, he’d tell you that himself.”

Spartacus eased up his grip and looked over to Agron then back to Nasir, who just gave a quick nod of agreement. But then after a few seconds, his hands were moving in a longer message that had Spartacus giving a half-smile in return. When he glanced over to Agron, he absently translated, “‘You can feel guilty but keep it to yourself.’ He told me that once shortly after we met when I told him that I didn’t like his situation, that I felt guilty knowing he was where he was and I hadn’t been able to do anything about it. Now, he just likes to throw that at me whenever he thinks I’m getting too attached to something going wrong.”

“Good thing Duro’s not here or he’d start using that one on me,” Agron replied and enjoyed the smile he got from Nasir.

Nasir had a beautiful smile.

“Where is Duro?” Spartacus asked, glancing around the waiting room.

“Making calls. He called Crixus and Naevia and then was going to call Donar for a warning. He’ll probably also get in touch with the P.P.O. while he’s at it to see if they have anything on Ashur. How’s Sura doing?” Agron wanted to make sure she was alright before they got back to work.

“He hit her after activating his Berserker core so there was quite a bit of internal damage, internal bleeding, ruptured organs, a couple broken ribs, and some spinal damage. They had to do surgery to do some clean up before the Regens could start accelerating the healing process. They’ve got her on a Regen schedule for the next week, short sessions twice a day so they can make sure she doesn’t go into shock by trying to rush it. Her body could still fail if they don’t approach it right.”

“Is she still out?”

“She’s woken up once for a minute but they’re keeping her sedated so she doesn’t wake up again. They’re just playing it safe so she doesn’t cause any damage just by moving around. But they’re confident and believe there won’t be any complications.”

Nasir squeezed at Spartacus’ forearm briefly in a show of comfort and Spartacus rested his hand on Nasir’s shoulder in response.

“I’m glad.”

Spartacus’ demeanor changed and Agron anticipated the serious tone he spoke in next. “I got a call about an hour ago from the Devas. The report I sent in yesterday was flagged by a Deva division over in California. They didn’t say what about it caught their attention but that we should expect Devas from there to be here sometime this morning.”

“Wait, so it isn’t official support assigned by the Prominents?” Agron had to ask.

“Not as far as I can tell. It seems to just be something of interest to these Devas and they’re checking into it to see if it’s connected to whatever it is they’re looking for.”

“We need help, not to be wasting time being questioned about what we’re dealing with. The Oni tracked us down to your fucking house.”

“We’ll see what these guys say. If this is what they’re looking for, we’ll have backup. I’ve asked that the Devas don’t make a move on the Gladiator’s Ludus.”

Now Agron was angry. “And why the fuck not?”

“Did anything Nemetes say indicate that they knew we were Devas and the U.E.A.?”

“Yes, he thought we were all Devas?”

“Then they haven’t exactly acted outside what they’ve done so far. Remember they’ve been killing agents and Devas all along. It may have just been bad timing.”

“On our part or theirs?”

“Possibly both.”

Agron stepped closer to Nasir and placed his hand on his bicep with a meaningful look toward Spartacus. “And if it was a purposeful move to try and figure out for sure he’s what they’re looking for? Ilithyia would have known there was something there for her to affect with her Shade core but nothing would have gotten through this.”

Spartacus’ eyes widened slightly in surprise before he looked over to Nasir who nodded.

“Does Duro know?”

“No. Nasir only told me,” Agron said, making sure that Spartacus knew how much he’d been told. And there was a glimpse of what looked like pride in the man’s eyes before it passed. “We have to assume that Glaber did confirm that he’s who they’re looking for. We need to restrict them or there’s no telling what they’ll do next.”

Spartacus hesitated another few seconds before he shook his head slightly and returned his focus to Agron. “No, we need them egotistical. We need them to be primed to make a mistake. They lost Nemetes and Glaber was pretty badly injured so they’re likely also angry. But if they think they haven’t been traced back, they’ll act like nothing’s changed. It may not sound like that big of a deal but it makes a huge difference. The three of us will return to the Deva division. I’d like Duro to stay here to guard over Sura. Naevia and Crixus can meet us there so we can talk with the incoming Devas.”

Agron didn’t completely support Spartacus’ decision but he was also hard-pressed to find a point of real dispute. What he said made sense. These Oni had already killed agents and Devas. Attacking a Deva’s home wasn’t too far outside the realm of natural escalation. And maybe they had just happened to attack Spartacus the day that they’d been checked out. Maybe they hadn’t known Nasir was there until Agron came out to face Nemetes. Maybe Glaber only went in because they realized there was a chance the one they were looking for was in there and they hadn’t initially thought that.

There were too many unknowns in this but Agron also knew that it wasn’t a bad call to let them think they’d essentially gotten away with attacking a Deva in their home. And they didn’t have a Regen among them so it might make for a good distraction for them to need to get Glaber patched up.

Spartacus’ approach was risky but not reckless, Agron decided. The man was either a fucking genius or fucking insane. Agron would figure it out as they went along. After all, he’d worked with both throughout his career and both had their pros and cons.

“Fine, I’ll let Duro know what’s going on. When we’re talking to the Devas, can he at least call in so he’s not kept out of what’s going on?”

Spartacus nodded. “We’ll all be back in gear so he’ll have a vital monitor as well as mic and earpiece so we can stay in contact.” Agron nearly let out a sigh of relief that Duro wouldn’t just be left here on his own. Especially since there being more than a mile between them meant he wouldn’t be able to pick up if Duro was in danger.

“Then we might as well get started. Unless you want me to take Nasir and you can spend a bit more time with Sura.” After all, the other Devas weren’t expected immediately and it depended on how quickly they’d hopped a flight to New York for how soon they’d be there.

“I’m ready to go now. Sura’s being cared for and I have to make sure she stays safe by taking care of the Oni. And she’s more at risk with me here than with me gone. I’m the Deva; Sura’s not even a user.” It sounded more like Spartacus was having to convince himself to leave. “Nasir can ride with you if he wants. And, with his permission of course, we’ll need to make sure you understand what his situation is. I’m assuming he didn’t go into as much detail as there is considering the limitations on your understanding of sign language.” Spartacus looked over to Nasir, who nodded in agreement. “Hopefully we can go over all that before the Devas arrive. I want us all on the same page.”

Agron turned his attention toward Nasir. “Do you want to keep it from Duro or let him in on it as well? The worse that’ll happen is he’ll know somethings being kept from him and he’ll get angry that I knew and didn’t tell him, but nothing that’ll keep for too long. He’s good like that, he understands. Either way, it’s up to you.”

Nasir didn’t even pause in his answer, spelling out “tell him” as soon as Agron finished.

“Everything Nasir?” he made sure to include the name so Nasir picked up on what he meant. Nasir nodded before he turned toward the door to head out of the waiting room, Roma right at his side regardless of Spartacus being there now. But she had shown a tendency to follow Nasir more than Spartacus even before last night, like she felt more like guarding him than she did toward her actual owner.

Once Nasir was out of the room Spartacus stepped a bit closer to Agron. “He’s only told his real name to four people since I’ve met him: me, Naevia, Sura, and Crixus. And it took months for him to even tell me. You’re something special, Agron.”

Agron felt flustered at the unexpected compliment. “Or he’s just relaxed since you met him.”

Spartacus smiled at that. “In some ways, yes. But not when it comes to his secrets. He has three things that he protects with the most careful discretion of who he reveals them to. The seal itself needs to be kept secret because of the legal repercussions. One of the Prominents know and covered for him serving as a Deva consultant after he trained him how to fight. And I’ve told you how secretive he is about his name. As far as the third, I’m the only other person he’s revealed his disposition to. Not even the Prominent required me to tell him, accepting when I simply said it was worth the seal. He’s known you for three days and he’s told you two of the things he guards most carefully. Regardless of there being some measure of his hand being forced concerning the seal, that’s significant. Don’t take it lightly.”

Agron met Spartacus’ gaze and simply replied, “I don’t.”

Spartacus observed him carefully before he nodded. “He’s like a little brother to me. He’s family. I won’t let anything happen to him.” Now Spartacus gave him a slight grin. “And I’m not blind or completely lacking in catching those looks you keep giving him. As long as you understand he’s been through a lot and there’s nothing about him that will be easy because of his circumstances, I have no reason to get in your way. He deserves some good in his life.”

“Right,” Agron ground out through his embarrassment. He hadn’t expected to get this sort of talk from Spartacus. “What, did he pull some shit with you to earn this sort of warning?”

Now Spartacus gave him a full smile. “Well, he did try to stab me in the back once. Nearly got me too.” Agron felt his jaw drop and Spartacus laughed at his reaction. “I pushed him hard when it came to accepting me coming around the first few times I spoke with him and missed the cue that I’d pushed too far. He really doesn’t like being told what to do.”

“Yeah, I gathered that much,” Agron was still working through Nasir actually attacking Spartacus like that. Then part of what Spartacus had said really registered with Agron and he asked, “Wait, you said it was soon after you met. You mean he nearly killed you before he was trained?”

“It was one of the reasons I thought he should learn to fight and work for the Devas instead of just getting him off the streets. And Deva Prominent Oenomaus is just about the best trainer the Devas have. With Nasir, he took someone cautious and dangerous and helped him become someone calculated and lethal.”

The door opened and Duro walked in and then right to them. “I passed Talyn. We ready to head out?”

“Anything from the P.P.O.?” Agron asked first.

“They’ll call me back. I’ll probably have to send them the file we have on Ashur for them to compare pictures.”

“I’ll send it once we get to the Deva division. You’re staying here with Sura, keeping an eye on her. We’ve got a meeting with some other Devas. You’ll be wired in.” Agron decided that he’d hold off telling Duro about Nasir until later, partially because he wanted to make sure he had all the information he was going to be given about him.

Duro gave Agron a mock salute and headed toward one of the couches as he said, “Then I’m getting a nap in. Just shoot me a text or call me to wake me up.” Agron nodded and waved Spartacus to follow.

Spartacus said a quick goodbye to Duro and followed Agron out. They made their way out of the hospital and caught sight of Nasir off to the side of the building where there was a small area of decorative foliage, watching Roma as the dog wandered around, sniffing whatever she found interesting. When she noticed the two approaching, she trotted at a slow pace – a show of her stiffness – toward them and nuzzled at Spartacus’ hand when she reached him, the Deva kneeling down to pet her, leaning forward to kiss the top of her head.

It was a nice sight, one more way they’d lucked out that he could show his love to his dog like this now, that he hadn’t lost her either.

He stood up after petting her some more and turned toward Nasir and Agron. “Let’s head to the division. We’ve got plenty to talk about before we have to answer to any other Devas.” Then he paused and looked around the parking lot before he ran his hands over his face. “I forgot I rode in the ambulance. Can I get a ride?”

Agron and Nasir laughed.

They made sure to stop by the house on their way to the Deva division, the three of them just walking past the officers warning them about going inside, Spartacus taking full advantage of his position as a Deva. They each went to their rooms and grabbed a bag full of stuff, Agron just gathering his and Duro’s belongings back into the duffels they’d barely pulled stuff out of.

He took a minute to change out of the clothes he’d gone to bed in, which were effectively disgusting by now. And when he walked out of the room and passed Nasir’s room, he glanced in to see that Nasir had gotten changed as well, finishing pulling a simple black hoodie down. When he glanced over and saw Agron in the doorway, he gave the Paladin a playful glare.

Agron grinned and shrugged. “You left the door open. You’re lucky it wasn’t the uni guarding the front door.”

Nasir exhaled a laugh and threw his bag at Agron, who grabbed it and casually slung it over his shoulder as Nasir reached under his bed and pulled out another gear bag. Agron heard metal bumping against metal and saw the weight to the bag.

“What, the Deva building armory doesn’t have enough weapons for you to pick from?” he joked and then swore he saw Nasir debating throwing that bag at Agron as well. He decided against it and just slipped the shoulder strap over his head and positioned it across his back as he walked toward Agron.

Agron let Nasir step in front of him and followed behind as they headed back down the stairs and waited just inside the front door for Spartacus. They figured he’d take a bit longer considering it was his room that was destroyed.

When the Deva did come back down with a pair of bags, he nodded to them and they left, heading toward the Deva facility.

The visiting Devas hadn’t arrived when they got in and through security, leaving their belongings in the car as Spartacus said they should be set up with a temporary place to stay by the time they left, adding that he’d requested for them to still be kept together, which Agron agreed with.

And apparently Crixus and Naevia had already been escorted to one of the conference rooms near Spartacus’ desk so that’s where they headed, Roma still a step behind them though there were a few people who greeted her so this was obviously not the first time she’d been brought to work.

When they opened the door and stepped inside, the door was barely closed again when Naevia pulled Nasir into a tight embrace. She then released him and moved on to Spartacus, who returned the hug while Nasir still looked surprised.

Agron stepped past them and toward Crixus. “He looked just as surprised when Spartacus hugged him. That not happen often?”

Crixus gave him a flat look before rolling his eyes. “We’re not really the touchy-feely types, him especially. But she was worried that we just weren’t being told everything and one of them was hurt. It happens sometimes.”

“Duro would have told you if anyone else was hurt.”

“Yeah, well we don’t know you guys to know that for sure.”

Agron rolled his eyes at that. This guy was difficult, and that was coming from _him_.

“He said you took one out.”

“Yeah, Nemetes. Fucking moron thought I was a Deva _and_ that I wouldn’t kill him.”

Naevia pulled away from Spartacus but turned her attention right toward Nasir and gave him a demanding look. Nasir froze for a few seconds before he let out a sigh and then his hands were flying in a narrative that had Agron mesmerized. He’d gotten so used to short messages that he’d sort of not thought about it carrying on for more than a few seconds, to convey everything that anyone else did with words.

“He’s telling them what happened,” Spartacus said. “It’s probably faster having him do it anyway. He’s better at picking out what to say, what to abridge, and he’s got a good handle on their limitations of understanding sign language.”

Agron nodded absently, eyes still glued to Nasir’s hands moving in a way that meant something, that he communicated with.

He really wanted to learn to speak the same language as Nasir.

Hell, he already spoke two languages fluently. A third one that was based off one he already spoke had to be easier.

When Nasir’s hands stilled and he looked over to give Spartacus a quick nod, Naevia also turned toward the Deva and said, “I’m glad Sura will be alright. They shouldn’t have dragged her into this.”

Spartacus was still angry about her being attacked and that anger came to the forefront now, though he did manage to quell it fast enough. “Some people don’t care who they drag into a fight. She was lucky. _We_ were lucky. If we didn’t have a Paladin there, it’s likely we wouldn’t have known something was wrong soon enough to fight back as effectively as we did.”

Agron had to make sure everyone understood his role and the limits of what they could depend on him for. “They’re good, though, and there are holes in my awareness. I didn’t know Glaber was there until he was attacking. He must have figured out my disposition when I confronted Nemetes and made sure he controlled how he moved and even his thought process until the very last second so that I didn’t realize he was there. And there had to have been a third Oni there to help Glaber get out. He was too injured to make his way out fast enough without help.”

“I’ve had an alert put out to all medical centers and registered Regens in the area to be on the lookout for Glaber and told them to call the Devas if he’s seen though not to refuse him care,” Spartacus said. “The less careful they’re being, the better.”

“You’re going to have to restrict them sometime soon, Spartacus. They can’t be left alone to kill more of us,” Crixus said, his tone demanding.

“And we can’t rush in, especially not after confirmation that they suspect Nasir is the one they’re looking for. We already knew they were looking for the person with a tattoo seal that matches Nasir’s. Ilithyia must have felt his sealed core when she came in contact with him yesterday. It would explain why Agron felt there was a threat against him when it happened.”

“Why look for him? Those seals are permanent,” Crixus said.

“Actually, it’s not so cut and dry as most people assume. Nasir?” Spartacus finished as he turned toward the smaller man. “Do you mind?”

Nasir shook his head and pulled his hoodie over his head, then rolled up the sleeve of his t-shirt on his left arm to expose the seal completely and Spartacus stepped closer.

“There’s no such thing as a decorative part of these seals. Every part of it has meaning and someone who knows what they mean can tell you everything you need to know about what a mark is intended to do.”

“Do you? Understand it, I mean?” Agron asked, figuring that Spartacus wouldn’t bring it up otherwise.

“Yes, I decided to learn about them when I was an Initiate when I saw that there were still plenty of Oni using marks like this boost power when they couldn’t gain more any conventional way. Nasir’s core is here,” he said as he pointed to Nasir’s arm about two inches above the elbow joint. “You can tell from the greater concentration of thicker lines. Each intersection of the design from just below the shoulder to the bottom of the tattoo is a null to the connections between his core and his body so he can’t access it. And the ones below the elbow are partially for preventing the core from simply creating new connections.”

“A core could work around the seal?” Agron had never heard anything like that before.

“It’s something unique to using these markings. Because they are static seals, they don’t adapt. Many people who use these have to add more to them, especially if they are using power enhancers because the core or their body gradually change and don’t work the same as when they had them put on. But this one…” Spartacus paused as his hand moved to point to the part covering Nasir’s shoulder. “Whoever Nasir found to do this, they were really good. Never mind that they were able to tattoo him in a way that worked through him growing up but they touched on an aspect of these markings that not a lot of people know about, even the ones who tattoo them. This portion up here was only partially to keep his core from moving out of the arm as the seal was put in place. The rest of it is what made this seal actually remain completely effective for thirteen years.”

“What’s it do?” Crixus asked when Spartacus hesitated.

“It means that as long as Nasir wants to be sealed, he’ll remain sealed. These seals are powered by the core itself so if Nasir ever decided without a doubt that he didn’t want to be sealed anymore, his core would defend itself against the seal and it would be useless. It might be possible to reactivate the seal, just like a Qilin does when they are recharging a seal, but it would depend on Nasir’s mindset: he’d have to have no desire to use his core.”

“That’s fucked up,” Agron couldn’t help but say.

“Perhaps but it was what Nasir wanted and it’s what he still wants or he wouldn’t still be sealed.”

“So why are the Oni after him?”

Nasir shrugged as he pulled away from Spartacus’ hand and then pulled his sleeve back down.

“It’s hard to believe they know his disposition. No one knows it and he’s been sealed since he was seven. And even before he received the seal, he wasn’t in any database as a user.” Spartacus gave Nasir another questioning glance and the smaller man nodded. “He was in the foster system and he made sure he got lost in there. Shortly after he was trained and brought on as a Deva, he told me I could look for anything on him and I lost track of him when he was six. He said he ran away shortly after turning seven and went straight for the one who sealed him.”

Just what the fuck was Nasir hiding that he went through such lengths to hide when most kids his age were figuring out school?

But the answer to that was that third secret, the thing that Nasir had only told Spartacus. And Agron doubted that the Deva would be revealing that. And it seemed like Crixus and Naevia knew well enough not to ask.

“They might just be assuming he’s sealing something they’d be interested in. Either for recruitment or for holding onto until they figure out how to use him,” Agron mused.

There was always the threat of any Oni getting their hands on an Ouroboros, the only disposition that could transfer cores between people. If they got one on their side, they could literally just take whatever cores they wanted. And this collection of Oni they were facing against had a dangerous collection of dispositions that could mean someone turning sides. Hell, it was possible that they could make Nasir break his own seal if they knew that’s all that it would take. If they had someone that knew how to read the marks like Spartacus could, they’d be looking for a way to get Nasir to do just that.

“The easy solution would be to restrict their access to Nasir,” Crixus stated.

Nasir crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow toward the agent.

Crixus rolled his eyes. “Good thing I know better than to seriously suggest it.”

Spartacus gave the man a smile. “We also need all the help we can get and Nasir is one of the best fighters in the division and you know it. And with some of our opponents having dispositions that solely affect cores, it’s a benefit to have someone that it is ineffective against. Because the seal nullifies anything besides the mark trying to affect it. Him and I also work well together as my Wendigo ability to draw core discharge to increase my own strength isn’t blocked by the seal since I’m not trying to interact with the core at all.” Spartacus gave them all a confident smile. “Nasir and I have been working together for a few years now. Trust me: we’re better off with him active against these Oni, regardless of their intentions for him. We just make sure we don’t let them succeed in getting to him. _We_ need to ensure that Glaber last night is as close as they get.”

“Right, should be easy,” Naevia said, sounding genuinely confident and Crixus gave her a fond look that Agron was a little surprised to see the gruff man capable of.

The speaker on the phone on the table beeped and then a woman’s voice called out to them. “Master Arios, are you still in the conference room?” she asked.

“Yes, we’re in here,” Spartacus answered.

“There are two visiting Devas at the front desk. Should I have them wait or escort them up?”

“We’re ready for them. Go ahead and bring them up. Thank you.” He turned his attention back to the agents who were giving him a questioning look. “The report I sent in got someone’s attention and Devas from California are here to see if what we have is something they should be a part of.”

“From California?” Naevia asked, sounding cautious. “This has been going on for a while and they send someone now?”

“I don’t know what about the report got their attention but I’m willing to take help if they’re here to give it. The area they’re from is about as active as we are so they’re guaranteed to be able to handle themselves, regardless of their Deva ranking.”

“That’s a lot of talking up of people you haven’t even talked to,” Agron said.

Deciding that he was done with keeping his distance, especially with the prospect of the unknown factor of these other Devas, he walked toward Nasir, the smaller man having turned his attention toward Roma, giving her some attention before he gave her the commands to lay down and stay and she listened at once, resting her head on her front paws so she could watch everyone in the room easily. As Nasir straightened back up, he looked up to Agron and gave him a small smile before nodding to his left. Agron stepped a bit closer and stood just in front of Nasir, his body partially blocking him from sight. If they could keep the attention on Nasir limited, like it was when Agron and Duro had first arrived, that would be ideal.

Crixus and Naevia moved away from the door and stood off to the side while Spartacus took a central position in the room, standing where he’d be the focal point.

They also all took this time to get their earpieces in, Agron sending a text to Duro to put in his as well, which he got an immediate response to so he figured Duro hadn’t actually managed to fall asleep.

A minute or so later, there was a knock on the door and Spartacus called out for who was on the other side to come in. The door opened, a woman who worked as an escort for any visitors as long as they were at the facility – even other Devas - holding it open and stepping aside for two men to follow her in.

They were closer to Agron’s age, early, maybe mid-twenties. The one in the lead had a build closer to Spartacus and Agron’s, solid and strong, around Spartacus’ height as well with black hair and a short beard, defined features with sharp cheekbones and a strong jawline, hazel eyes that were intense in the way that gave away that he would be just as good in a fight as any of them.

The other man was definitely younger but probably older than Nasir. He was barely shorter than the first man and though he wasn’t as solidly built, he was still strong. He was paler, only a slight touch of tan from the sun but with a spattering of moles along his cheek and chin. His features were softer as well but Agron thought that just made a good contrast in a way that likely put people at ease. Because Agron got the feeling that this one was someone to be careful around, his instincts making the call on this. Maybe not being careful in the same way as someone who could match the skill of a Paladin but no less of someone that needed to be watched out for.

On the other hand, something about how his eyes moved, how he directed his gaze didn’t match up.

“Thank you, Kore,” Spartacus dismissed the woman and she gave him a smile and then closed the door behind her as she left. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Master Spartacus Arios and I’m the one who submitted the report you responded to.” He then indicated to each of them in turn as he introduced them. “This is Agron Rasch, on assignment from the P.P.O., a consultant who works with me, Talyn, and U.E.A. agents Crixus and Naevia Viri who I brought onto the case yesterday. We also have Valkyrie Duro Rasch, Agron’s brother, listening in through mics since he’s on guard duty but we want to make sure he doesn’t miss anything.”

The taller man was the one who replied. “I’m Senior Derek Hale. This is my affinity partner Stiles Stilinski.” So he wasn’t even a consultant but worked specifically with the Senior because they had an affinity. Interesting; that wasn’t as common with the Devas as it was with U.E.A. agents. “We’ve got some questions as to what you’re dealing with here to determine if it’s connected with an Oni we are tracking.”

“I’ll do what I can to help.”

Stiles spoke up then. “You can start with dropping the formality. It just gets annoying fast and we don’t actually want to waste time. So, chop chop, let’s talk.”

Agron frowned, uncertain as to how to take that. It was just so different of a tone than he was used to dealing with and he wasn’t sure what that would mean to how things progressed from here.

He was actually grateful that the looks Crixus and Spartacus exchanged seemed to be along the same lines as his thoughts so he wasn’t on his own in that. Good, they could all agree on something here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will be updating fic info and tags when I update next week to reflect that this is, indeed, a crossover fic for the remaining chapters as I mentioned in the first chapter's A/N. I didn't want to update it with this chapter because they're only in a few paragraphs at the end. Don't worry: the focus will still very much be on these guys. And while I will reference events that happened in the fic I have posted focused on the Teen Wolf fandom (Eye of the Beholder) I will give enough details here so that you don't have to go read that if you're not feeling it. (I have the standing hope with this series that people will check out the other fics and discover new fandoms ^_^)  
> Hope you enjoyed and see you next Saturday!


	10. Other Devas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The presence of the other Devas is suspect and questioned...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A comment reminded me that I hadn't added a glossary for the dispositions in this fic yet. Oops, I meant to do that a few chapters ago. My bad. I'm going to do that while updating tags and fandoms once I hit the Post button ^_^. I'll be putting only the dispositions that have been mentioned/featured so far in the fic and then will add the rest when I finish uploading the fic.

Spartacus looked toward Stiles and was about to speak when he paused and seemed to observe Stiles closer. Then he suddenly declared, “You’re blind, aren’t you, Mr. Stilinski.”

Stiles gave him a sly look. “What gave me away? Was it the blank stare? Or did I do that thing where I guess where people are and end up looking at a decrepit old plant? Either way, it’s actually really rude to just ask someone about their visual capabilities. You’re rude.”

Agron and Crixus exchanged confused looks, the agent obviously feeling the same as Agron in that it was like he missed something.

“I apologize if that’s how it came across,” Spartacus replied in his polite manner that wasn’t mocking or anything less than genuine. And that seemed to make Stiles pause so Agron felt a little better about that. Spartacus took that opportunity to focus back on Derek. “I’m confused as to how my report reached you so quickly. You said you are a Senior but only the Prominents and other Masters should have received that report and it wasn’t marked as urgent, simply an update to an existing assignment with a request to review it and determine if more people needed to be assigned.”

“Certain aspects of the report and the summary of the situation alerted the Deva Master I report to and he forwarded me the report to check out immediately,” Derek explained. “The situation of Oni collaborating on this level is what we’re here about. The dispositions you detailed of these eight Oni is concerning.”

“Seven,” Agron corrected, realizing belatedly that unless Spartacus had told them, they had no reason to know about the attack last night.

“We can count. The report contained eight profiles,” Stiles said shortly.

“Except in the time it took you to get here, they attacked us in Spartacus’ home. I was able to take one out and another was injured.”

“Which one bit it?”

Agron frowned a bit deeper but eased up a bit when he caught a flash of anger from Derek and recognized it for the protective response it was. Agron didn’t know Derek’s disposition but it appeared that it was as prone to increased protective instincts over loved ones, just like his Paladin core. He’d make sure he tried to not push it and just put up with this Stiles for the time he was there without letting his short temper get the better of him.

“The Warp and Dragon Titan Chimera, Nemetes.”

Stiles suddenly slapped Derek on the shoulder as he exclaimed, “I told you we should have left sooner. This was my chance to see a Warp! Do you have any idea how rare those guys are?”

“Yes. And I told you leaving sooner would still have put us here in the middle of the night and we would’ve had to wait until morning anyway because I wasn’t going to call for this meeting at three in the morning.”

Agron nearly jumped at his brother’s voice suddenly sounding in his ear. “We would have been awake anyway. Fucking Oni.”

Agron had to fight back a smirk. It was a good thing Duro wasn’t here. When he got tired, his already weak brain-to-mouth filter became practically nonexistent and it was possible he’d earn himself getting punched out. He could be a vicious asshole when sleep-deprived and irritated.

“Fine, so one down along with my opportunity to nerd out with the best of them. Which one took the guy out?”

Agron was about to react in frustration when it clicked that Spartacus’ introductions had meant nothing to Stiles because he couldn’t connect the names to who was talking besides Spartacus.

“Agron, the Paladin,” he replied.

“Been a while since I met one of you guys. We don’t do P.P.O. outreach very often. Our division is pretty stacked with some good brute force to make up the difference. Got a few Valkyries though. So, you sure you couldn’t have taken the guy alive?”

“No. There was a second Oni attacking everyone else and our backup that would have someone who could seal the uncentered core was still too far away.”

“Ever heard of unconsciousness? You know, you knock someone on the head enough times, maybe get a good choke hold on them and they take a little nap and you can come back to them later. Any of this ringing a bell as an option for you to have pursued rather than killing the guy?”

“Let it go, Stiles,” Derek said before Agron could figure out how to defend his actions.

“I will so not let it go, dude. It was a Warp!”

“It was an Oni that was trying to kill us,” Agron felt like he had to make sure the other man understood this.

Spartacus cut in there. “The fact is that this is a situation that has escalated in this manner for a while now and Nemetes makes nine Oni all connected to each other that have left us no other choice but to kill them. They simply won’t stop trying to destroy their targets until they are dead. Agron offered him to surrender and he refused. It would take a lot to not be outmatched here, especially if we were facing off to more than one or two at a time as we’ve managed to this point and when I’m faced with Oni that have killed seven agents and three Devas so far…” That got a surprised reaction from both men. “…I’m far past the point of seeing them sealed and in rehabilitation programs as highly viable. They seem to be in this for killing and so I will not hesitate to have that be how I handle them.”

There was a short silence and Agron watched Spartacus as he took in a deep breath and worked to pull himself together. He was still reeling from Sura’s injury and while his temper was shorter than usual, it seemed to be working in their favor this time around.

Eventually, Derek crossed his arms and said in a low voice, “Different approach, Stiles.” He then rose his voice to speak to the rest of them. “Have any of you come across a man named Hajime Midori? He’s a Chimera with Elemental Sidhe and Regen dispositions confirmed.”

Spartacus thought it over and then answered, “No. Crixus?”

“No, doesn’t ring a bell,” Crixus answered.

“Who is that?” Naevia asked.

“He’s the one we’re targeting. As far as we can tell, he’s one most directly responsible with the sudden increase of Oni working together, coordinating their efforts against the Devas and U.E.A. We faced off against him about eight months ago and since then have put together a team that have been following up on any occurrence of groups of Oni working together. We haven’t been able to get a fix on him again since but in about seventy-five percent of the cases we follow up on, he’s involved at some level.”

Spartacus crossed his arms and thought about the implications that were likely similar to the thoughts rushing through Agron’s head. For one man to be behind so much of the increase in cooperation between Oni recently was staggering.

“We’re basically following breadcrumbs with this guy. He’s around long enough to lay the groundwork for the Oni to work from and then he’s off to his next build,” Stiles continued, his tone completely different than what he’d used until now. He was serious, focused, intense, and practically authoritative, which was pretty impressive when he was surrounded by people with relatively high ranks within their organizations and he was only there as one who had an affinity with a Deva Senior.

Then again, Nasir was standing right behind him and was there because of his connection to a Deva Master and if he wasn’t keeping a low profile would likely be giving off the same vibes.

Agron kept having to remind himself that he needed to work on not giving in to preconceived opinions as meaning anything to what people were actually capable of, especially when it was obvious that it had been an intentional move on Stiles’ part if Derek’s comment toward his partner was anything to go by.

“Do you guys have any way to see if there has been any connection with what’s happening with these Oni to Hajime?” Derek asked.

Spartacus glanced over to Crixus and Naevia who both shook their heads and then over to Agron. He thought about it and was about to shrug when he had a thought.

“Duro, why don’t you give Donar another call, ask him if he picked up anything to do with that name. He might have heard it and just didn’t think it had any significance.”

“Got it. Give me a minute,” his brother replied.

“Good idea,” Spartacus complimented.

“And that is?” Stiles asked.

“He’s a Reader that we consult with sometimes. He was the one who was able to give us some of our initial information when we had a location on the Oni. But he’s a civilian so there are limitations to how involved we are allowed to let him be.”

Stiles’ expression became significantly more interested and he turned his eyes toward Spartacus, getting pretty close to his actual location and Agron figured that he’d been blind for long enough to be accustomed to using his hearing only. “A Reader? Really? And a civilian? You’ve got a civilian one of those on retainer? How good is he? Because Readers aren’t really rare but most of them can’t pick up shit reliably. And most of them end up being Chimeras and a majority of the time that means the Reader thing gets weaker.”

“Stiles,” Derek interrupted as he uncrossed his arms enough to lightly elbow Stiles in the stomach. Stiles let out a huff at the impact that made Agron wonder if he was being dramatic or if Derek had a disposition that increased his strength.

“What? These guys are loaded in the dispositions they get to deal with. How’d we get the short end of that stick?”

“Considering most of the dispositions we’re discussing are in Oni, I don’t see how we’re the unlucky ones.”

“Forgive me for interrupting, but what do you know about what this Hajime is trying to accomplish?” Naevia asked. “After all, if Donar doesn’t know anything that doesn’t mean there’s no connection to him. It just means no one thought about it while he was nearby.”

“We told you that already,” Stiles said dismissively.

“No, you said that you’ve faced him before and that he is greatly responsible for Oni working together more and more. You didn’t actually say what he’s doing it all for.”

Stiles nudged at Derek and said, “Oh, she’s good. She’s obviously the one we need to watch so get right on that, Derek.”

Agron glanced over his shoulder toward Nasir and gave him a questioning look. It wasn’t that he doubted Naevia was a very intelligent person but this was also the sort of thing Nasir seemed to be better about picking up on, finding those things in conversation most people missed. Nasir schooled his expression but Agron did catch some movement out of the corner of his eye: Nasir’s left hand was blocked from sight of Derek by Agron’s body but Naevia should be able to see it from where she stood. And a quick look toward Naevia showed that she had positioned herself at an angle beside Crixus that her right hand was blocked as well. They were perfectly positioned – and likely practiced enough - to hold complete conversations without the two visitors knowing any better.

Or at least Derek since they didn’t have to worry about hiding a visual language from Stiles.

Spartacus spoke even as he shot Agron a significant look, likely for giving Nasir even that much attention. “I’d like an answer. We’re not being evasive or withholding information on our end and the same courtesy would be appreciated. I know that some of the divisions on the West Coast have some measure of competition between them but that isn’t how we want things here. All that does is distract from our real work against the Oni and we don’t need that.”

Derek observed them carefully, like he was looking for something they weren’t saying. He let out a sigh and his posture relaxed ever so slightly, almost an indiscernible shift that Agron likely wouldn’t have noticed if he wasn’t a Paladin.

“He’s collecting Oni, gathering cores that’ll help him get stronger, and aiming for the complete overturn of the organizations established to get in his way.”

“You know, standard supervillain stuff,” Stiles added.

“He doesn’t get involved himself very often when it comes to actual confrontation. I’ve only found one other report of him being there for a fight and that was over in Japan a few years ago. Even with Stiles and I having figured out what to look for in tracking him, we’re barely getting anything. And the more support he gets, the less likely we are to run into him again.”

Crixus and Naevia looked toward each other thoughtfully. “It’s not too far removed from what could be behind what these Oni are doing. They seem to be focusing on attacking the organizations though.”

Mostly, Agron amended mentally, since they couldn’t say it.

“So if this is connected to Hajime, are you helping or taking over?” Agron asked. “It just feels like this is you guys saying if that’s the case, we’re no longer needed here.”

“No, that’s not what we’re saying. Honestly, if I don’t have to pull anymore of the Devas or agents involved with tracking Hajime from their current assignments, I’m not going to. You guys are more familiar with the assignment and the area so it would be a disadvantage that might cost us a fight. We’ll be fine with a supportive role.”

“If Hajime is connected? If he’s not, then you’re gone because it has nothing to do with the Oni activity you’re focused on.”

“I’d like to be able to help without Hajime being involved, especially since it seems like you could use some. But I run the division I’m assigned to. It’s in good hands for me to be away but there are still things that just can’t get done without me there.”

It had been a long time since Agron was involved with the Devas anywhere but this side of the country. He’d actually forgotten that it was more common for the divisions to be run by Seniors, who had at least five years of experience as Devas and exceptional assignment records. Masters, with their ten plus years of experience were usually in charge of regions and multiple divisions within that area. They still could be called in for assignments as Spartacus was, but it wasn’t as usual of an occurrence.

Derek continued, possibly seeing something in Agron’s expression to warrant further explanation. “Spartacus already mentioned some of the difference between how things are here and how it is on the West Coast. There was a huge rate of Oni activity about ten years ago over here and that not only took out the middle ranks of the Devas but it also made them operate in a slightly more unified manner than the rest of us are used to. So, there’s a high number of Masters and you’re only just beginning to rebuild the number of Seniors. Our ratio is basically opposite and we have about five divisions with multiple Seniors each all run by the same Master.”

“That’s not the case with the division we work at though because Derek kicks all the ass and doesn’t bother to remember names,” Stiles interjected with a smirk.

“It’s a small division, a newer one that is has only recently had a second Senior promoted but he’s not as experienced running things.”

Agron frowned and hesitated before he decided that if Stiles was going to be blunt, then it wouldn’t hurt for him to be as well. “You’re not exactly being clear as to whether or not you’re going to be sticking around. Because if you’re leaving, we need to get started on finding more support for our side of this fight. If I don’t have to call in some favors, I’d prefer to save them.”

Derek looked over his shoulder toward Stiles and there was a short pause before he let out a sigh and uncrossed his arms and stood up a bit straighter, seeming to take on an authoritative stance, become more professional. “If Hajime is involved, we’re guaranteed to stay and help. If you understand that my priorities are with my division first and if something happens that requires I go back, that’s what we’ll do.”

Spartacus gave the man a kind smile, similar to ones he gave Agron on that first day that gave him the solid impression he was a truly good man. “I wouldn’t ask for more. I understand your position.”

“Great. So can we actually get comfortable while we’re waiting for word back from your other guy? It’s been a while since Derek let me in a computer chair and I’ve been still in an airplane seat for like five hours.”

“You broke the last one I let you sit in,” Derek said in a low voice, it almost coming out like a growl. “I had to pay to replace it.”

Stiles was walking further into the room, right toward Spartacus, Agron, and Nasir so they moved to the side, Agron sticking close to Nasir, making sure he kept him at an angle behind him that concealed him from Derek’s line of sight without being obvious.

As he made his way across the room, Agron noticing how Stiles hovered his feet close to the ground with each step and moved at a slow enough pace that he could stop himself if he hit something, he replied to Derek, “I didn’t break it. I clearly displayed the flaws in the assembly and you’re lucky it fell apart under my ass and not a Master or even a Prominent. Or what if it happened under some little old lady who was trying to get help? Or, heaven forbid, it happened to Lydia.”

“Lydia doesn’t spin in computer chairs. It’s undignified.” Derek started following behind Stiles a few feet away. He turned his attention to Spartacus and gave him a shrug. “Sorry about him. Unfortunately, he really did keep pretty still on the flight here and that doesn’t come without consequences.”

“You’re the one who made me pack so fast that I put my laptop in my checked bag. If you’d have just double-checked, we could have holy shit!” His tone suddenly changed to one of surprise and he stumbled back as Roma stood up with a low growl and moved to stand next to Nasir, looking irritated.

She must have actually fallen asleep while they were talking and Stiles must have bumped into her while their attention was focused on Derek.

“Wait, Derek was that you? Or is there actually another dog in here?” Derek gave him a dark look and remained silent. “Why didn’t anyone mention there was a dog in here? Or did you actually introduce the dog when you said ‘Talyn’. I guess that would explain why there’s been one less participant than names you gave.”

Spartacus answered with a baffled tone to his voice. “No, that’s my dog, Roma. She was injured last night and she’s been protective and anxious so we’re letting her stick close to Talyn until she calms down. Talyn is to your right with Agron. I apologize since I didn’t know about your blindness when I made introductions and then it just didn’t seem right to mention it once we began talking. Talyn is actually mute, though. He communicates primarily through sign language and messaging systems we have set up for him.”

“No shit? Well that’s potentially inconvenient.”

“Hey, Agron.” Duro’s voice called to him while Stiles was still speaking and Agron was grateful for the interruption.

“What do you have, Duro?” he asked, turning a bit toward Nasir so he could focus on his brother easier.

“Donar said he didn’t hear anything but he said with the context we’re looking for, it wouldn’t have been anything thought about in passing. He wants to see if he can plant the opportunity to find out for sure.”

Agron and Spartacus looked at each other, both figuring out that the only way that would happen would be for Donar to return to the Gladiator’s Ludus and interact with the Oni. It was about a hundred steps beyond not reacting to the attack to send one of their allies right back to them.

Spartacus sighed, looking around everyone’s attention being directed toward him. “We need the information more than I don’t want him to do it. Besides, he’s not one to listen to me anyway if I tried to stop him. Crixus and Naevia, if I could have one of you relieve Duro so he can get some sleep, I still need someone there with Sura. The other will come with me and we’ll be backup for Donar, make sure he doesn’t get hurt. Agron, you stay here with Talyn. If you guys can get some rest as well, that would be ideal but you stick together regardless.”

“Right,” Agron replied, catching Nasir giving a nod of acceptance out of his peripherals.

Spartacus turned toward Derek and Stiles. “I’ll get your answer. You can either remain here with Agron or Kore will see about making sure you’re settled into one of the hotel rooms we have reserved for visitors.”

“We’ll stick around here,” Derek stated smoothly and Spartacus nodded.

“We’ll try to make this quick but expect a few hours. I’ll text you when we’re on our way back. Keep your mics off and I’m not going to make you keep your earpieces in. I won’t have it transmitting to you anyway.”

“Watch yourself out there,” Agron said, not liking that Spartacus was going right to these Oni when they’d attacked his home mere hours ago but unable to tell him to do anything else. It was his choice and they really did need Donar to check this out _and_ survive the task.

Spartacus nodded as he reached out and grasped Agron’s bicep briefly, his expression thankful. “I’ll make sure the ones monitoring our vitals let you know if something goes wrong. And remember, neither of them are allowed to go anywhere in here unaccompanied.” He nodded toward Derek and Stiles. “So you and Talyn will have to stay with them.”

Agron couldn’t help but sound a little disappointed when he repeated the simple, “Right.”

Spartacus left then with Crixus and Naevia following behind after she stopped at Nasir to give him another brief hug, the man less surprised this time around. Agron took in a deep breath before he turned to look between Derek, Stiles, and Nasir. They were silent for a good twenty seconds before Derek let out a sigh and broke the silence. “You guys have a gym, right? Or some sort of training area or facility around here?”

Agron looked to Nasir to answer since he didn’t know for sure. Most Deva facilities did for both training new Initiates and practice for experienced Devas but he didn’t want to assume.

Talyn nodded and Agron repeated for Stiles’ sake, “Yeah.”

“Good. He needs to burn energy before he makes you guys want to kill him.” Derek declared with a nod toward Stiles, who glared in his general direction. “Don’t give me that look. I’m used to you and I want to smack you upside the head.”

“Domestic abuse much?”

“Nah, we’re not at home; it doesn’t count.”

Stiles paused before he gave Derek a smile. “Aw, honey, you made a funny. I’m so proud of you.” He turned his attention in Agron and Nasir’s direction. “He’s not kidding, though. It’ll help me focus once things get going if I’m not all jittery.”

Nasir moved like he was going to step forward to take the lead but then he hesitated and Agron looked toward him to figure out why. Then he realized that Nasir hadn’t put his hoodie back on, that his arm and about half of the seal was exposed. If Derek knew anything about those markings like Spartacus, he’d know it was a seal. Hell, he had to just know as much as Agron to know that the markings were the kind used to interact with cores.

So, he changed his angle, making sure to remain positioned between Derek and his line of view of Nasir’s arm. He extended his arm toward the door. "Can you just wait outside for a second? I’m sorry, but we’re all still reeling quite a bit from the attack last night. Paladin protective instincts are great in a conflict but they can take a while to calm down and having new people around isn’t helping.”

He wasn’t necessarily lying as he was still on high alert about anything possibly being a threat to Spartacus and Nasir, him being close to the other two constantly for days and recognizing them as people he wanted to keep safe, but he was experienced enough to dismiss it unless an actual threat presented itself and these two didn’t qualify.

He thought it was strange that the questioning – borderline suspicious – look he received for the request came from Stiles and not Derek. He’d been picking up that Derek was the more protective one, likely having a disposition with strong defensive instincts like Agron’s, but he’d nodded acceptance while Stiles seemed to be doubting him.

Derek reached out to take hold of Stiles’ elbow and led him to the door and through it, closing it behind him.

Once they were out of sight, Nasir walked around Agron and to where he’d dropped his hoodie. He quickly slid it on before he focused back on Agron and gave him a small smile.

“Do you…” Agron was interrupted by Nasir holding his hand up, indicating with a finger over his lips for him to be quiet and Agron immediately listened and waited for Nasir to tell him why.

C-r-i-x-u-s. L-o-o-k. D-e-r-e-k. S-h-i-f-t-e-r.

Just like with the Elementals and Dragons, Crixus wouldn’t have been able to tell what kind of Shifter Derek was, but many of them had some manner of enhanced senses to match the higher sensitivity of the animals they could partially or completely shift into, depending on the strength of their core.

“And?” That was all Agron felt comfortable saying but he figured Nasir would know what he meant, that the two having an affinity meant Stiles was also a user to have a core to identify.

C-o-u-l-d-n-t. T-e-l-l.

“Why?”

N-e-v-e-r. S-e-e-n. B-e-f-o-r-e.

Agron frowned and really had to fight the urge to ask for more but figured it would be pointless since it wasn’t Nasir’s ability that he was asking questions about. What sort of disposition could it be that Crixus, whose whole purpose with one of his cores was supposed to be able to identify dispositions, then what could it be?

Nasir reached out and tapped Agron on the chest to make sure he had his attention.

N-o. O-n-e. K-n-o-w-s. W-i-t-h-o-u-t. L-e-a-r-n-i-n-g. N-o-t. A-l-l. C-o-r-e-s. S-e-e-n. O-f-t-e-n. E-n-o-u-g-h.

Agron supposed that made sense. Sure, a lot of cores that allowed the person some sort of insight or knowledge meant they had an advantage. But if they didn’t figure out what that knowledge actually meant - like he’d had to learn to interpret his instincts – then it didn’t mean much. Seers had to learn what they were looking at before they could know it. They could see the differences between dispositions they were able to pick up but it meant nothing if they didn’t do the work to put a name to the image.

Then it was likely that Stiles had himself an extremely rare disposition.

If that was the case, it was possible the reason they’d come across Hajime that one time had been because of Stiles.

“Well, let’s get back in their company before someone passes them on their own and Spartacus gets in trouble.”

Agron had turned toward the door when Nasir again reached for him, grabbing onto the crook of his elbow as he spelled with his other hand.

I-l-l. T-e-s-t.

Agron was confused about that one and even though he knew his expression conveyed that much, he still had to say, “I don’t follow. What do you mean?”

Nasir gave him another of his smiles, but this one was much more sly and Agron needed to take a very deliberate pause to not get caught up in how attractive the confidence inherent in the expression was on the smaller man.

Y-o-u-l-l. S-e-e.

And then Nasir walked by Agron to the door, Roma moving to follow behind and he had to signal for her to stay beside him and he opened the door. Agron followed, his longer strides bringing him beside Nasir easily enough as they left the room to see Derek and Stiles both waiting a few feet to the side of the door, Derek talking in a low tone that Agron couldn’t pick up what he was saying but stopped once they were in the hall. Nasir gave Derek a slight wave, then motioned for the two to follow him as he led the way down the hall with Agron behind wondering what the hell was going on.


	11. Testing Them

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nasir gives the newcomers his own test to judge their worth...

Nasir led them to a separate building connected through a basement tunnel that would have brought them to the next block over. They’d passed by a few other doors that Agron assumed led into other parts of the facility since the Devas utilized many of the surrounding buildings for one thing or another but nothing was marked to tell them where to go, something Agron had found was actually common in all Deva facilities. It was something along the mindset of why help out someone who shouldn’t be in there by pointing the way for them.

When they got upstairs from the tunnels, they came into a long hallway and Nasir led them to a double door and opened it for them to go inside. It was an open room with mats covering the entirety of the floor and the far wall lined with an assortment of padded and wooden weapons. There were a few other small groups of people spread throughout the room, working on different things, many of them sparring in some manner though. With this being the training facility for the Devas, Agron figured there would be less of a focus on random workouts like the gyms they’d seen in the past few days so he wasn’t surprised by the room being more geared toward fighting.

They stepped in and Nasir continued along the wall to the left of the door for about ten feet before he turned his attention to Roma and commanded her to lay down and stay. She listened, as she’d been doing throughout the day, but when he walked away, she didn’t relax like she had so far. Her head stayed up, her ears pointed forward in her alerted state and she didn’t really relax to the side as she usually did when he told her to stay. He wondered if she’d been in here before and had watched her owners sparring and so that meant she became alert for them getting hurt in a way she didn’t in the other parts of the building she’d seen them in. It was probably helped that Nasir didn’t go too far away, waving the others over closer to the corner near Roma.

Derek took a wide look around the room and then lowered his voice to speak to Stiles. “Open gym, probably fifty by seventy, training weapons along the walls so watch yourself following the walls, nearest group is about twenty feet away to your right.”

“Well, we asked for a gym,” Stiles replied even as he moved his hand from where it had settled in the crook of Derek’s elbow to pat his cheek a few times teasingly, but it turned into a genuine touch before he stepped away. “You joining me, big guy?”

“Well, Boyd and Erica aren’t here to make you work so looks like it’s on me by default.”

Agron was getting more and more curious as to what they were looking to do. Working out was one thing but it was sounding more and more like they were getting ready to spar. It sure as hell sounded more like when Duro was asking Agron to spar. Which, yes, Stiles had been introduced as Derek’s partner so he worked with him, meaning he had to be able to handle himself in any assignment Derek took on. He just didn’t get how it was possible.

This was different than him assuming that Nasir couldn’t have been an asset to them because he didn’t have a core. Stiles was blind so Agron didn’t think it was too out there to be doubtful. Even with his enhanced instincts, Agron still had to see to fight. He just wondered how it would work with Stiles, how he would be effective enough to stand with the Devas as a partner to someone in charge of a division.

Nasir stepped forward then, Derek’s attention immediately turning toward the smaller man. He gave him a kind smile before he pointed between them and then held up both hands in fists, mocking a fighting stance.

Derek frowned, looking confused briefly before he realized what Nasir was asking and then he looked dubious. He looked between Nasir and Agron then, probably trying to figure out who he should be talking to. He settled for not really limiting to either of them as he spoke, “Spartacus didn’t mention your disposition when he was introducing you. It’s just that I’m a wolf Shifter and with the boost that gives me to my strength and reflexes, I just want you to be aware of what you’re up against. There are simply some dispositions I won’t spar with, not while Stiles is sparring as well.” Agron wasn’t sure what that had to do with it but at least they knew the full details of one of their dispositions.

He gave Derek a shrug as he replied, “To be fair, he didn’t really give anyone’s dispositions besides what was obvious with me and my brother here from the P.P.O. But Talyn isn’t a user. He works specifically with Spartacus though with the full support of the Devas. If he couldn’t handle himself, he wouldn’t have asked.”

“Works for me. Let’s do this!” Stiles exclaimed suddenly as he stretched his arms over his head.

Nasir lifted an eyebrow in question at that and Agron couldn’t tell if that was a genuine response or if he was still expressing for their sake.

Stiles must have figured the reason for the pause in response. “Hey, I wouldn’t have offered if I couldn’t handle it either. Besides, it’s not like we’re doing this for Derek’s sake. And he doesn’t really get anything out of it if he and I go at it with how much he has to hold back so he doesn’t irk himself by making me bruise. Besides, I spar with the same people all the time. It’ll be good for me to change it up. You in, Talyn? Cool name, by the way. Tough but subtle.”

Nasir waited until Stiles stopped talking, though it seemed to be more of a ramble. He then nodded and Agron voiced the agreement.

“Awesome. Let’s make this a challenge. We’ll go with fighting gloves, full contact, but aiming for a tap out rather than a knock-out. Wouldn’t want to risk the wrath of the local Regen for the sake of some training. I don’t know how your Regens feel about that, but ours gets really moody.”

“That’s because you go to Scott instead of the Deva assigned Regen.”

“Hey, he appreciates the practice and once he gets better he’ll be filling one of those spots anyway. Besides, it helps keep our brotastic affinity strong and healthy.”

Derek pinched the bridge of his nose and growled out, “Stop calling it that.”

“You’re just jealous because I don’t have a fancy name for ours.”

“That really isn’t it at all. Besides, it’d just get lost in everything else you call me. Now, would you please focus or I’m making you do it blind.”

“Rude.” He clapped his hands and rubbed them together before looking around. “Alright, let’s get our hands wrapped up and ready to go.” That was when Agron realized he’d been speaking to Nasir but likely didn’t know exactly where he was.

Derek spoke again, his tone seeming automatic, like this was what he just did all the time for Stiles. “Two o’clock. Five paces. Talyn, would you mind taking the lead for him? This large of a room and the mats make it hard for him to get his bearings just by hearing.”

Nasir nodded and waited until Stiles got close before he snapped his fingers just before he reached out for Stiles’ elbow, tapping it lightly. Stiles reached for his hand and followed his arm up quickly to his shoulder. He absently mused, “Huh, you’re shorter than I thought you’d be.” And Agron had to laugh at that, even if it did get him a glare from Nasir.

“Hold it,” Derek suddenly said and he walked over to Stiles and pulled up the back of the other man’s shirt, then removed a holster and gun from where it was clipped on the inside of Stiles’ pants, concealing it more effectively. “The last thing I need to put up with is you complaining because you landed on it and got all bruised up for it.”

Stiles gave him a dismissive shrug even as he grinned while Derek walked back over to Agron as he slid the clip of the holster into his own belt to secure the gun.

Agron watched them walk toward one of the cabinets and Nasir pulled out some hand wraps and handed one set over to Stiles, both of them wrapping their own hands while Stiles started rambling though Agron didn’t bother trying to listen in. From what he’d seen and what Derek had said, this seemed to be a somewhat normal thing for him and Nasir seemed to actually be listening. So Agron turned his focus toward Derek and wondered if he could get something worthwhile out of him.

“Can I ask you something?” he began.

Derek crossed his arms. “You want to know how he expects to spar against anyone when he’s blind,” he stated and Agron gave a shrug.

“He get asked that a lot?”

“Not really but that’s only because he’s around people that know him. Being a Paladin, you’re familiar with affinities, with the different types and what they mean for abilities?”

“Yeah. I’ve got one with my brother.”

“Then you know how strong, stable affinities use the connection between the people they’re connecting to have some bleed over of the abilities, that some version of a distinguishing ability of your core becomes something they are capable of.”

“Yeah, I’m aware of that.”

It was what allowed Duro to have some measure of the fighting instinct and sense of danger of a Paladin when near Agron even though he was a Valkyrie and that was the primary difference between the dispositions.

“If I’m within a certain distance of him, Stiles gets a touch of what my more sensitive hearing allows me, which is a better understanding of my surroundings. He’s aware of what’s around him for about five feet out from him. It didn’t mean much at first but he’s put in a lot of hours for it to be useful enough for him to fight. It helped that he already knew a good amount of self-defense and is actually proficient in it. His dad’s a sheriff and made sure Stiles could take care of himself.”

“Huh,” Agron replied thoughtfully. That was a handy ability to transfer through the affinity. He hadn’t really heard of anything like it but these sort of bleed overs tended to be unique to not only the dispositions being connected but also tended to have some significance to the two the affinity connected. But then he thought over what he’d seen of how Stiles moved around. “But he had no idea Roma was in the room until he nearly stepped on her.”

“Yeah, well, things that don’t move are harder for him to catch if he isn’t paying attention. He’s better in a fight than he is walking around. Mostly because of a difference of how much he pays attention. What about Talyn? If he’s got the backing of the Devas despite not having a core, he must have impressed the right people.”

Agron only hesitated because he wasn’t sure if this was something that he should keep quiet about, if it was something Nasir didn’t want to be told to someone they’d just met and were still testing the waters of. But then he remembered that this wasn’t something Spartacus declared had been a secret Nasir kept. It was actually very likely that it was something most of the Devas who worked at this division was aware of. It was probably in the files the Devas kept on him as a consultant.

“He was trained by the Deva Prominent Oenomaus,” Agron revealed, trying to keep his tone even and passive.

Derek did a good job of not really giving an obvious reaction as he just made a hum of acceptance before adding, “Then they’re definitely evenly matched at least.”

Nasir was just slipping his left hand into his glove, settling it in place before securing the Velcro and clenching his fist a few times to test the fit. He reached into the cabinet once more and handed over a small plastic container to Stiles and then grabbed another for himself, the two pulling out mouthguards and removing the plastic covering for them before putting them in their mouths and biting down to secure them into place. Nasir then repeated his action of letting Stiles know where he was so Stiles could put his hand on a shoulder and be led to where they would be sparring.

“Keep it in a ten-foot square, Stiles,” Derek said and Stiles waved his hand at the Shifter in either acknowledgement or dismissal, Agron couldn’t tell.

Agron realized something then: this would be the first time Agron had actually seen Nasir fight. Sure, last night he’d seen Nasir attack Glaber but that was a single strike against someone injured. But despite this being called sparring, they were still going to be striking for full contact and would be trying to beat each other. It would be a more comprehensive demonstration of how Nasir fought.

Agron was looking forward to this more than he’d initially thought.

He knew that part of that anticipation was because this wasn’t a fight where he had to be concerned for Nasir’s safety.

It started out easy enough, which was usually the case when two people who’d never sparred before had their first exchange, the two moving in and throwing some easy strikes. Agron wondered if there was also a factor of Nasir checking to see if Stiles really would be able to fight as he claimed he could. After a few straight punches and hooks with Stiles either dodging or blocking each one, it was obvious that he really could tell when something was coming at him and Agron saw the shift in Nasir’s stance, slight as it was, to show that he’d become serious.

Stiles was the first one to really step it up, though. He went from deflecting a couple jabs to throwing an intense combination of punches and kicks that forced Nasir to stay on the defensive and didn’t give him a chance to move in. None of the strikes made solid contact and Nasir proved very quickly that he was very agile, his smaller size definitely working toward his advantage, and his motions were smooth and controlled and the extent of his training showed every time he moved just enough to not take a hit. Stiles was making just as much of an impression, though. Missing a strike could really mess with people, especially if they missed consistently. They overbalanced or backed off or got frustrated. Stiles didn’t display any reaction like that. He used the momentum of one missed strike to propel him into the next one and it was obvious that he had stamina to back it up. He just remained laser-focused and kept up his assault.

It was a round kick that ended up messing him up though. Instead of dodging it like he had been doing, Nasir side-stepped enough to be outside the effective range of the kick’s power and wrapped his arm around the leg, stepping in once he had it trapped and swept Stiles’ other foot as he continued to step into him. Stiles went with the fall easily enough, not bothering to fight the sweep and went down to his back, but immediately twisted to his right, sliding his leg out of Nasir’s hold down to the ankle so he could press his shin along Nasir’s stomach before he reached up and grasped Nasir’s wrists to pull him forward and then overbalanced him onto his leg, which he then used to support the other man’s weight as he boosted him over his head and to the ground, letting his contact with his leg bring Stiles around as well so that he could do a backwards roll and end up kneeling over Nasir.

Stiles continued to prove to be relentless as he used his hold on Nasir’s wrists to keep the other man from trying anything, pulling Nasir’s right arm straight out toward him and Agron immediately recognized him setting up for an arm bar.

Nasir didn’t let him lock it in. He struggled to try and pull free and when he realized that wasn’t going to work as their difference in size now put him at a disadvantage, he switched to rotating his hand around Stiles’ to break his grip, getting slightly held up there against Stiles’ strength. It didn’t stop him for long and he worked his right wrist free, the technique designed to still be effective against someone bigger and stronger. He then used both hands to pull Stiles’ hand that still gripped his other wrist close to him before he trapped Stiles’ right foot with his own and lifted his hips enough to dislodge Stiles and switch their positions but Stiles acted quickly and locked him in his guard.

Nasir reacted by sitting up enough to drop his elbow onto Stiles’ stomach. Stiles noticed it coming enough to tighten up his abs so the air wasn’t knocked out of him but it was apparently enough of a distraction for Nasir as he was able to move his hips back against Stiles’ interlocked ankles to break his grip and swung his legs over to the side and dropped the weight of his chest onto Stiles’ with his body perpendicular to lock in side control.

“He’s good,” Derek murmured and Agron glanced over at him. “Or he’s just really lucky in finding the limitations Stiles’ focus has.”

“What are his limits?” Agron asked.

The corner of Derek’s lips lifted and the man looked fond. “Put simply: inconsistent. Like pretty much everything else about him.”

Agron thought that was the most obvious Derek had been about their affinity since they’d walked into the conference room. Just the nature of the observation and his expression and tone when he’d said it made all the difference.

Nasir was alternating between strikes and trying to get the right position and angle for a joint lock. Agron noted that while Nasir was agile, Stiles was squirmy, that he seemed to rely somewhat on Nasir making contact with him and working from there. He wondered if that was something Stiles had developed before his affinity with Derek had formed and he didn’t have any way of anticipating attacks. It would make sense with what Derek had said about having learned how to defend himself.

It wasn’t the right approach against Nasir, Agron noted, about the same time Nasir managed to isolate one of Stiles’ arms and pressed it securely to the mat out from Stiles’ head and interlocked his arms around it and rotated to lock up the elbow and shoulder joints and it wasn’t long before Stiles tapped out from the pressure.

Nasir released Stiles immediately and stood up off of him, allowing the other man to stand on his own. Stiles stood and shook out his arms even as he started grinning. “Dude, that was awesome!” He directed his eyes toward where Derek was and exclaimed as he pointed toward Nasir, who had to lean back so he didn’t get hit by Stiles’ flailing. “You see that, Sourwolf? I bet he could actually give you a run for your money.” He turned back toward Nasir and Agron was actually stunned at how his demeanor suddenly changed and he seemed to rein everything in as he gave Nasir a confident smile and asked, “Please, sir, may I have another?”

Nasir looked baffled before he gave Derek a questioning look.

Derek simply shrugged. “It’s up to you, Talyn. He’s a little competitive, though, so just be aware he might keep asking you until you say ‘no’. And he’ll probably try to make the last round be one he won.”

“Stop making me sound like such a shallow asshole,” Stiles chastised. “It’s not like it’s weird for someone to be competitive. It’s healthy.”

Not that it mattered because Nasir was already nodding acceptance of another round, Agron verbalizing his agreement and Stiles gave an excited whoop.

Duro walked in with Naevia as the two were in their ninth round, Nasir having tapped Stiles out five of those rounds and Agron satisfied that he had a better idea of what the smaller man was capable of. The two glanced at the sparring pair and Duro looked amused while Naevia just seemed to shrug it off. Though with her knowing Nasir for as long as Spartacus, she would already be familiar with him as a fighter.

They approached and Agron turned toward them, waiting until they were closer before he indicated between Duro and Derek and made introductions. “Duro Rasch, Derek Hale.”

“Hey,” Duro greeted. “Well, Donar says you guys are likely in the right place.”

Derek lifted an eyebrow at the Valkyrie. “‘Likely’?”

“Well, he couldn’t waltz right in and ask them ‘you guys following the example of some guy named Hajime’. He went in under the guise of looking for a change in workplace, asked enough questions about what their work environment was like, what their business goals were, what they were going for in clientele, if they had any adaptations for users.”

“Did he say who he talked to?” Agron asked.

“Batiatus. And it was Ashur working the front again so he talked to him for a few minutes but kept it casual.”

“If he got the answers we needed, where’s Spartacus?”

“Donar’s still there. He thinks he can get more but Spartacus said to relay that much to you guys so these two can get settled if that’s enough for them to decide if they’re staying or not,” Naevia answered. “If they’re here for the duration, I’ll get them settled.”

“Hell yeah, we’re sticking around!” Stiles suddenly called and Agron turned toward the two to see that they had stopped sparring and were standing and listening in, Nasir already pulling off his gloves.

“Just let me know when you’re ready to head out and I’ll show you to where you’ll be. This division doesn’t have any housing connected to it but the U.E.A. does and that’s where you’ll be since the agency is working closely on this one.”

“We’re not picky. We’ve had to stay in conference rooms before so we’re ecstatic to get a bed,” Stiles replied as he walked over toward Derek, missed by a few feet so that the taller man had to reach out and grab his elbow before he walked into Agron. Once he was pulled closer to Derek, Stiles casually draped his arm across Derek’s shoulder and hung off him, earning a glare from the Shifter. “I’ll be happier about the shower, though. I actually worked there and now I’m feeling like I need to wash away all those tap outs.” He angled his head over his shoulder and spoke up toward Nasir. “Don’t forget our score. I’ll be looking to even that out before we’re done here.”

“We might as well go now,” Derek said. “Until Spartacus returns, it’s unlikely that we’ll be making any progress. I’ll give you our numbers and you can call us when we’re ready to move forward against the Oni.”

The pair followed Naevia out of the gym as Nasir walked over toward Duro and Agron, looking thoughtful.

Once the door closed behind them, Duro turned to face Nasir and asked with a grin, “So, what did you think? You looked like you were having fun when I walked in.”

Nasir looked toward the door before he gave the brothers a small smile and answered toward Agron to voice his answer after he replied.

T-h-e-y-r-e. G-o-o-d. W-h-a-t. W-e. N-e-e-d.

* * *

Donar finished gathering what he wanted about an hour later. Spartacus had already sent a Deva Adept over to the hospital to take over guarding Sura so that Crixus could join them as they all gathered at the Deva facility again.

Duro, Agron, and Nasir had already taken up one of the conference rooms while they waited, Duro falling asleep lounging in one of the chairs as Agron and Nasir sat at one end of the long table with Roma laying down under it spread out along their feet. They had spent their time with Nasir teaching him more sign language, getting started teaching him the signs for words or having Agron say a sentence and signing it back to him and then Agron would repeat that a few times before moving on to another sentence.

Agron was taking a bit of a shortcut on his end for remembering, taking advantage of an aspect of his Paladin ability to memorize muscle movement faster. He’d tried activating that soon after they’d started and found that because it was a physical motion, he was connecting the motions of the sign to the meaning simply because it was all body movement and not spoken.

Nasir had noticed what he was doing and the next sign he’d taught him was “cheater” with one of his soft smiles.

Agron figured he’d never get tired of seeing those.

But as soon as Spartacus was back, Duro waking up when the door opened, that side of Nasir retreated and he was back to being the serious man Agron recognized more than anything.

And once they sat down around the table in one of the conference rooms while they waited for Naevia to return with Derek and Stiles, Nasir and Spartacus had started signing to each other with an obvious intention to not offer any translation for Agron or Duro. Donar seemed to not care one way or another as he ignored them and when Crixus arrived, he watched their exchange for a few moments before he also just ignored them.

Maybe what they were talking about had nothing to do with the Oni, Agron realized, but that didn’t make him any less curious. He still just really wanted to know what they were saying, especially with how serious they looked about whatever it was they were talking about.

Agron was almost relieved when the door opened and Naevia, Stiles, and Derek walked in because it would mean Spartacus and Nasir couldn’t keep excluding them so easily.

Before anybody could say anything, Stiles stepped ahead of Derek and asked, “Where’s Talyn at?”

Nasir looked up at the man in confusion and paused for a few seconds before he knocked on the table a few times. Stiles frowned slightly and his eyes darted around like they were reflecting his mental search for exactly where the sound came from. He then stepped closer to the table, one hand slightly out in front of him and he grabbed hold of one of the chairs before he walked into it. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small air horn and leaned forward to set it on the table across from where Nasir sat since he was on the side facing the door. Stiles stood upright with a proud look on his face. “The whole not being able to talk doesn’t mesh well with me. You need to be able to make noise so I know when to shut up. Here’s your noise.”

Duro frowned. “Isn’t Derek’s hearing always enhanced being a born Shifter? Wouldn’t something like that genuinely hurt him?”

“It was short notice. I’ll come up with something better for the long run.” He then gave another grin before he added, “Besides, Derek’s used to me. Loud isn’t a factor.”

A quick glance at Derek showed that he didn’t seem so accepting of the idea.

Stiles moved down a few seats and dropped into one near the end as Derek walked up to the table and reached out to take the air horn, shrugged out of his jacket, and shoved it in one of the pockets before draping the jacket on the back of the seat next to Stiles.

Nasir looked mostly confused about the exchange but also somewhat amused.

Stiles then shot a suspicious look toward Derek. “You took it back, didn’t you?”

Derek ignored his affinity partner and turned his attention toward Spartacus. “What did you find out?”

Donar answered instead of Spartacus. “I’m pretty sure them attacking Spartacus’ house last night was bad timing. They weren’t on guard of me coming in and talking to them like they would have been if they thought they were identified.” Donar looked between Agron and Nasir. “In other words, don’t get too attached to the thought that you guys screwed up and are why they knew where to go. Somehow, they got a hold of a list of Devas assigned to divisions in the region and they were working their way down it alphabetically.”

“That’s not something easy to get a hold of,” Spartacus noted. “We don’t have any list of Deva personnel available to the public; it’s too dangerous.”

“No, but regional personnel lists are exchanged between the Devas, the User Enforcement Agency, and the Protection of the Paladins Organization quarterly,” Naevia noted. “If someone knew what to look for, it isn’t beyond the realm of possibility that one of those was intercepted.”

“Honestly, it makes the possibility of Hajime being involved more likely. He’s proven to know things that he really has no business knowing and uses that against our side damn effectively,” Derek added.

“Such as?” Agron asked.

“Such as my disposition,” Stiles answered. Derek looked over toward him, seeming surprised.

Crixus also seemed confused. “But you’re a Chimera, aren’t you? What do you mean ‘disposition’?”

Stiles reclined back in his seat casually. “Clairvoyant or Seer?” he asked Crixus.

“Seer. I’ve just never seen anything like your cores before to make a comparison to.”

“Yay, I’m still rare as hell!” Stiles exclaimed as he threw his hands up in what Agron thought was mock excitement. “But, alas, I am no Chimera. I am nothing but a low and Beholder.”

It took a few seconds for it to register with Agron that Stiles had revealed his disposition, partially because it wasn’t one he heard referenced very often, and another second to get past the automatic doubt of his claim. Beholders were _very_ rare, as in there were maybe a few hundred in the world at any given time, which Agron figured was a good thing when they were able to see through time, able to witness past and future events like they were happening right then. But in addition to being rare, it was one of the most dangerous dispositions to control and most Beholders didn’t make it to thirty with their sanity. And Crixus’ confusion of thinking he was a Chimera was understandable: the core was split in half between the two hemispheres of the brain, the part that accessed the past in the left hemisphere and what showed them the future in the right. It was the only disposition like that.

Stiles seemed to have been giving them all a minute to absorb the information before he continued. “My disposition isn’t recorded anywhere, not even now with me working with the Devas. But that didn’t keep Hajime from knowing what it was, kidnapping me, and holding me hostage for over a year.”

“Why hold you? Beholder abilities require a high degree of concentration so they are able to find their way back to seeing the present. And they are also visually based so your blindness makes you incapable of using them anyway, right?” Spartacus asked thoughtfully.

“Because I had just graduated and was looking at moving away for school or work. He figured it was easier to just keep a hold of me rather than follow me walking around free until he got his hands on an Ouroboros, which he’s said he knows where to get one. He might have it by now considering how long it’s been since we last saw him.”

“I don’t even know the location of a single Ouroboros and the Devas are the ones responsible for ensuring their secrecy and safety,” Spartacus said.

“Yeah, well, like I said: he knows things he really shouldn’t. If he figured out my disposition with no record stating it, why should we doubt that he knows where an Ouroboros is? And why would you assume that the Devas know where all the Ouroboros are? Saying it’s required for them to come to the Devas for protective measures doesn’t actually mean they all listen. Especially since the smart ones realize there’s no consequence for letting it stay secret. Hell, they might decide they’re better off keeping it to themselves, especially if they know that protective measures include complete separation from their actual identities and homes and minimal contact allowed with family and friends.”

“There aren’t any Ouroboros involved in this so what do we care?” Crixus asked bluntly.

“Well, he’s a dick,” Stiles declared to Derek, who rolled his eyes. “Like Jackson levels of ‘dick’. Which, to those uninitiated to the ways of Jackson, is quite a high level of dick.”

“Enough,” Spartacus said in a short tone before he turned back to Donar as Stiles sent a glare in his general direction. “No registered Regen in the area has reported to have treated Glaber and the injuries he has would take a few sessions to be healed enough to be useful instead of a liability. And Nemetes is dead so they’re down two.”

Donar cut in then. “We’re also looking at four that aren’t the kind to get their hands dirty on the grunt work. Marcus Crassus, Quintus Batiatus, Lucretia Batiatus, and Ilithyia Glaber keep to the background. That leaves us most likely to deal with Ashur and Tiberius.”

“But once we go after them, they’ll know we’re onto them and whoever we don’t take out or apprehend will likely disappear,” Naevia said. “We can’t risk that with the high possibility of them having a list of Devas they can use against us. They could reveal that list to more Oni and then we really wouldn’t be able to effectively counter them.”

Spartacus leaned back and crossed his arms in thought. “We don’t have the strength to take them all on either. We may succeed in taking out two more and injuring others but that’s not without loss on our end that we simply can’t risk.”

Nasir signed something and Naevia translated, “‘Especially since we don’t have a Regen working with us. We’d have to pull the one stationed at this division away from her duties.’”

“Do you only have one Regen working here?” Derek asked.

“The East Coast has a lower population of Regens awaken by about a factor of half of what you see in other parts of the country,” Donar noted.

“Which already has a lower number of Regens in total compared to other countries,” Naevia added.

“We already have her working on an assignment supporting an Adept against a Plague operating on the other side of the city. I won’t pull her off of that,” Spartacus declared. “Of course, we have the support of emergency services but that means we also have the wait time of emergency services. We don’t automatically get priority treatment like if we used our own Regen. It’s how the system was set up and we can only deal with it as is.”

Stiles nudged at Derek’s arm. “Could we get Scott over here? I know he’s not fully trained as a Regen, but it’s better than nothing and he’d give us another boost in strength against these guys.”

Derek crossed his arms and leaned his elbows against the table. “No, I asked about his availability when we first received the report. I guess this counts as ironic, but he’s in concentrated training sessions for his Regen core for the next few days. I can message Kira, though, see if she can request that they head this way once he’s finished.”

“Too bad their affinity is too new that she can’t head here now,” Stiles groused. “What’s the point of having a team that is supposed to be dedicated to handling Hajime if we can’t have their help?”

“What good is a team that isn’t skilled enough to take him out because they neglected training?” Derek shot back with a slight upturn of his lips.

“Hey, did I ask for a reasonable retort? I think not.”

Agron thought he just might be getting used to these guys as he felt more amused than anything by that.

“But that does give us the potential for reinforcements in a few days,” Spartacus said then looked deep in thought. “May I ask their dispositions?”

Derek answered. “Both work for the U.E.A. now but Scott used to be a Deva until his Regen core awoke 8 months ago when we faced off against Hajime. He’s also a wolf Shifter but awakened instead of born like me. And Kira is also a Chimera as a Wraith and Sidhe Elemental.”

“Good. Having someone on our side who can cut off access to their cores will be invaluable. Also, if we are allowed a few days, one of the division’s Seniors will be returning from an evaluation session with the Prominents. He’s a Dragon, classified as a Sidhe, Leviathan, and an Efreet.”

That was impressive. While it wasn’t uncommon for an Elemental or a Dragon to control two elements – which didn’t classify the person as a Chimera because it was all controlled by the same core – three elements or all four was rare to see. The only other time Agron had seen it, the user was a Chimera and two elements were controlled by a Dragon core and the other two were with an Elemental. Each element took a different thought process to control so it was usually difficult for the user to be proficient in more than one.

“I understand that it is difficult to take this approach, especially considering the attack last night, but we can’t rush into this and lose them. We need to be able to take out a majority of these Oni. Even if we can’t get them all, we need to leave them weakened and without any resources to fall back on once we’ve finished our attack. In order to accomplish that, it seems like waiting for more support is what we need to do. We need to wait until we have the guarantee of success in this. I will be putting out a warning to all Devas in the region, especially ones who live nearby, that their identities as Devas may be compromised and that they are to take necessary measures to protect themselves. Although, I do think the risk has been decreased without Nemetes and his Warp disposition, the risk is not completely gone. I encourage that you two send out the same warning to the U.E.A., especially considering more agents have been killed than Devas.” Spartacus turned toward Derek and Stiles. “This is the approach I think is best but I don’t have any experience with people with connection to Hajime. Do you agree this is the right thing to do?”

Derek looked over toward Stiles before he uncrossed his arms to reach over and took Stiles’ hand in his own. Agron thought it was interesting that the Deva Senior was obviously leaving the call to Stiles, who without their affinity would just be a civilian.

Stiles seemed to be thinking it over just as Spartacus had been, though, and didn’t answer right away. And when he did answer, his tone was serious. “Hey, it’s not our names putting us on the chopping block against these guys. Hajime is the one that knows us. So, if you’re confident enough to let things hold off until we have a few more bodies on our side, I’m not going to say it’s the wrong way to go. I’m certainly not going to argue against these guys being dangerous enough to warrant a rather-safe-than-sorry approach.”

Spartacus nodded and sat up a little straighter to say, “Then we’ll reconvene when we have the strength to pull this off, to win against these Oni completely.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did the best I could to keep to more generic terms or ones the easiest to figure out what's happening for Nasir and Stiles' sparring match. Training in martial arts for about 12 years, including Brazilian Jiu-jistu and MMA, ironically means I don't actually have a good perspective on what people who haven't trained are familiar with or what is self-explanatory to not pull people out of what's happening. And I really like the scene so I hope it worked out for you guys.  
> Feel free to give me feedback and I'll see you guys next Saturday.  
> Thanks for reading!


	12. Telling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few days of rest gives Agron some time with Nasir...

Derek had been in contact with his agent friend, Kira, and she had said they had three days before they could join them. Two days until Scott was finished with his training but he finished in the early afternoon and they wouldn’t be able to catch a flight until later that night, putting them in New York in the early morning and needing sleep, especially since Scott would still be in recovery from using his core regularly for a long period of time.

Furthermore, the Deva Spartacus had mentioned would be back that same morning so they decided not to worry about meeting until later in the morning so everyone could be rested and ready to go. They needed their best to deal with these Oni accordingly.

Just after they’d decided to wait for their reinforcements, Agron had made his progress report to the P.P.O. It hadn’t gone as smoothly as he was used to as the superior he’d made the report to had been very concerned about what they’d found through the course of their investigation, particularly the threat of Hajime. When Agron had conveyed what he knew about that Oni, there had been outright anger because it was the first time his superior had heard about there being such a man identified and pursued.

Duro had been quite the little shit about that exchange and had laughed at Agron, declaring all too excitedly that he’d never been happier to be a lowly Valkyrie working with a Paladin so the responsibility to make the report fell to the Paladin.

So, once Agron’s report had been made and they were cleared to leave for the day, Spartacus had seen to them all getting settled in a place while his house was still a crime scene and then repaired. He’d gotten them set up in one of the rental houses the Devas kept for use in assignments or for visitors, the house only a few minutes away from where Stiles and Derek were staying so that they could offer support to each other if needed. Agron wondered if this place had been built with a college dorm in mind considering there were an abundance of bedrooms, enough that they could each have their own rooms and there were still a few left empty. And even though Agron didn’t mind sharing a room with Duro – he was used to that – it was nice to have the option of getting some time on his own.

They’d been there two days now, with one last full day of a break and then the next morning, the ones they were waiting on would be there. Agron realized quickly that he was grateful for the downtime. He and Duro had been moving constantly for a long time now and taking a few days would make all the difference in the long run, likely for the next few assignments they took on after this.

Agron was under no illusion, didn’t allow himself to not acknowledge the full truth of why he appreciated the time as much as he did: a good percentage of why he felt that came from that he’d spent much of the past two days with Nasir. They spent most of the day together, hours passed with them seated facing each other as they signed back and forth, Agron making steady progress in actually learning words and how the language itself worked. He could actually understand full sentences as long as they were comprised of entirely common words. And as long as Nasir pronounced his motions enough for Agron to connect that specific movement to the correct meaning, Agron wouldn’t get left behind, stuck on one of the first signs of what was said. When Nasir signed even at the pace he did with Crixus – which was noticeably slower than the speed he used with Spartacus or Naevia – Agron just couldn’t keep up. But he figured that was only because he didn’t really have the meanings ingrained well enough and practice would be all he needed. With that in mind, he hadn’t used his core to shortcut memorizing the motions and Nasir had seemed pleased with that decision.

That was something Agron had learned about Nasir: he definitely believed in people learning lessons for themselves. He likely understood that Agron wouldn’t learn what he really needed by using that trick with his core but had merely made a joke of it and then had let Agron have his choice instead of telling him how he should proceed in his determination he had of learning sign language.

Agron had learned plenty about Nasir besides that, having gotten impressions of these traits that were confirmed over the past two days. Nasir was intelligent, had a wry sense of humor that usually didn’t even get a chance to emerge, was empathetic, loyal, attentive, straightforward when he felt he needed to be, and Agron figured that even if he could speak he was the kind of person who wouldn’t talk in excess, that he would be careful with his words.

Ultimately, he was an amazingly attractive person to Agron, both physically and as a person. And Agron had been paying attention and looking for signs of what Spartacus had mentioned, saw that there was more than likely an interest from Nasir as well. He seemed to feel something for Agron and the Paladin just needed to figure out if it was better to try and do something about it now or if he should leave it alone. After all, he and Duro would be returning to their place with the P.P.O., their presence here temporary and only spanning the duration of this assignment.

Unless…

That “unless” was a big one. It was the difference between doing something “now” or “not”. It was Agron’s life as it was now with the only thing he worried about being Duro surviving the Oni they faced and a life where he had _people_ , as in more than one.

He hadn’t had that in years, not since their parents had died. They had their place with the P.P.O. and that was pretty much it. They had associates they got along with well enough but they never bothered getting closer than that. They were in, did their work, and then were out again.

Agron didn’t mind that lifestyle but he suspected Duro was just sticking with him for the time being. He didn’t think Duro necessarily disliked working for the organization, simply that he would be more than ready to pursue a life that had nothing to do with his core.

And Agron didn’t hold that against him. Actually, Agron would be all for Duro doing whatever he wanted, especially if it kept him from being in danger ever again. Agron just wanted his brother to be okay, which was what he figured was Duro’s priority concerning Agron as well.

Agron wasn’t any closer to making a decision than he’d been when he started trying to figure it out an hour ago. Even Roma, who he’d decided to take for a run while he mulled it over, was starting to slow down to a lazy jog beside him instead of having to slow down to match his pace.

At least Roma was recovered and back to her excitable self with only some obvious lingering anxiety. She still stuck close to one of her people at all times, though Spartacus had said earlier that day that she may calm down once Sura returned home.

And Sura’s healing was progressing on schedule. She was recovered enough to be allowed to be awake when she wanted to be and Spartacus had said she would be able to walk around a little starting tomorrow.

Spartacus was likely visiting her now, as he’d headed over to the hospital after he’d finished the work he was putting in at the Deva facility every day to make sure everything was running well without his active oversight. He’d grab something for them all for dinner on his way home and that gave them the chance to all just relax and talk for a while.

Again, something that Agron hadn’t really experienced in a long time: just talking with someone he got along with that wasn’t related by blood. Spartacus made a good friend that Agron wouldn’t mind keeping in touch with.

There was that “unless” again.

He slowed to a stop about a block away from the house, the front of it in view though the car he and Duro were renting wasn’t in the driveway so Duro had likely gone somewhere. Agron pulled his phone out of his pocket to check that he hadn’t missed a message and saw nothing received so Duro had either just told Nasir to pass along the message of where he was or had left a note.

Duro knew he was thinking things over and knew when to give him space like not texting or calling him if he didn’t have to.

Agron startled out of his thoughts as a cold, wet nose was pressed into his palm insistently and he gave Roma a flat look for her impatience. She sat and her tail swished back and forth along the sidewalk. Agron just shook his head at the dog’s impatience and started walking again. They were too close to really get on her case for not wanting to stop. Besides, he wasn’t usually the one to walk her so he figured letting her get away with something she didn’t with Spartacus or Nasir wouldn’t be too out there.

He approached the house and made Roma sit while he keyed in the code to unlock the door and at least made sure he walked in before he gave her the command to enter and she bounded past him, dragging the leash on the floor behind her as he heard her pad through each of the rooms while he took his shoes off and set them to the side of the door.

Roma passed him again and jogged up the stairs so Agron figured Nasir was upstairs in his room. Agron let the dog go and headed toward the kitchen to get something to drink, settling on water and he sat down on one of the stools at the island just to sit for a while.

A few minutes of silence later and he was suddenly aware of someone approaching him and he looked over to the source and saw Nasir step around the corner and look at him, amused. He held up his right hand, which was holding the leash and rose an eyebrow at Agron.

“Hey, if she wants to walk herself all over the place instead of waiting for me to take off the leash, who am I to get in her way?” Agron responded with a grin. Then Nasir gave him a pointed look and he rolled his eyes, knowing exactly what Nasir was chastising him about. “Oh, come on, I knew maybe three signs for that.” Spartacus had encouraged Agron to sign while he talked the day before. He said it had helped him get smoother with the language to get as much practice with using it as he could. He said it also helped remember the signs even if he didn’t use the correct sentence structure right now. That could be worked on later when he had a more proficient vocabulary.

The problem Agron had with doing that was just how minimal his vocabulary was. Spartacus had been signing for years, just like Nasir, and Agron felt stupid just throwing out random words when it happened to be one he said that he knew.

Nasir stepped fully into view as he slung the leash over his shoulder so he could sign, _Practice._

“Fuck the gods, you’re annoying,” Agron groaned as he crossed his arms on the island and dropped his head into the fold of his forearms. He was happy to hear the exhale of laughter from Nasir. He was getting really good at picking that sound out.

And both Nasir and Spartacus had encouraged Agron to not think of it so much as a completely different language. It was still a visual representation of English, even if there were different rules and it wasn’t a word-for-word adaptation, not something completely unrecognizable. Late on their first day off, Nasir had informed him over a text that if the smaller man could speak, his style of speaking wouldn’t be too far off from Spartacus: precise but willing to adapt. If Agron approached it more as letting his mind give Nasir his voice by filling in the gaps that he either didn’t understand or that just weren’t signed from context, he might pick things up a bit better. That had probably been more helpful than any of the other advice he’d been given.

He listened to Nasir walk away but heard the coat closet next to the front door open as Nasir put away the leash, then he followed the sound of Nasir’s light footsteps return toward him, the other man coming to stand next to him and leaned against the island beside Agron’s left arm. Agron sat upright so that he could see Nasir clearly, their difference in height meaning that with Agron seated on a high stool, he was just about at eye level with the shorter man, his attention momentarily taken with the realization of how relaxed Nasir seemed. It was something that had become more common over the past two days and Agron was elated to see it just be how Nasir was around him. It didn’t help that his attention on Nasir’s body language meant he noticed that Nasir was in a sleeveless shirt, the tanned skin of his toned arms on display and the intertwining lines of his seal drawing Agron’s gaze.

Those marks and Nasir’s determination were the only reasons Nasir wasn’t a user.

He wondered if the past few days and their constant sharing of company would have been enough for the first inklings of an affinity to form between them if it wasn’t for that seal.

He shook off that line of thought, this time able to sign as he asked, “Where’s Duro?”

Nasir’s hands moved, slowly but as smooth as if he were going as fast as he could, mouthing along with what he was saying as he only did with Agron now. _Met with Stiles and went to the store._

Agron’s expression conveyed his surprise. “Was that his idea or Stiles’?”

Nasir smiled. D-e-r-e-k.

It took a few seconds for the implication to hit Agron and he laughed when it clicked. “I really want to know how those two ended up together. Derek seems to barely tolerate Stiles most of the time.”

Nasir considered his answer before responding, likely going through the signs that Agron knew and how he could get his message across within that knowledge. _Stiles isn’t calm here. I think he’s scared._

Agron frowned. “Scared of what?” It was something else he could sign as well.

_Us. The mission. Failing. I think he didn’t want to tell us he’s a Beholder._

“I can see why it’s something he’d keep secret. Rare cores like that aren’t what anyone wants to deal with.” Nasir’s expression closed off in a way Agron hadn’t seen since just after the attack on Spartacus’ home. Agron wasn’t sure what he’d said to get that reaction. Still unsure, Agron continued on and hoped he hadn’t just fucked something up. “I mean, he’s already been attacked because of it. And there’s a lot of misinformation about Beholders, about what they can actually do so the expectations and stress that gets put on them is pretty fucked up.” Nasir’s expression wasn’t easing up and Agron really started to panic. “Fuck, this is why I’m not good with people. I’m sorry for whatever it was I said. What did I say?” he rambled a bit in his nerves.

Nasir’s expression finally shifted to look surprised at Agron’s rush of an apology, then his cheeks flushed slightly.

_Nothing. It’s fine._

Agron frowned at Nasir’s dismissal. He’d really wanted to know what had gotten that reaction, why Nasir had felt the way he had. Answering an urge, Agron reached out and laid his hand on Nasir’s left arm, his fingers brushing against the lowest lines of his seal and feeling a tingle of its power at his skin. It may be a seal active on someone else, but it was still a seal and his Paladin core recognized that as a threat so he would always be aware of it when he came in contact with it.

“You know, you’re allowed to feel whatever you do. And you can tell me if something I said made you angry or sad or whatever. I want you to. I want to know how you feel.” Agron wondered if he blushed at all after realizing just how honest he’d gotten in saying that, what meanings could be taken from that admission.

Not that any possible meaning that could be taken were any less true. It had been a completely honest request.

And it was like Nasir was looking for any indication that it was anything less than genuine. And even if Agron wasn’t absolutely horrible at hiding his emotions, Nasir was really good at reading people and would have been able to pick up on anything.

Nasir’s expression became confident then and Agron couldn’t tell if it was just a front or he’d really found something in his observation of Agron to give him a look like that.

Then Nasir moved his hands to sign, limiting his movements enough with his left hand to not dislodge Agron’s touch.

_You first._

Well, that didn’t help. “Me first what?”

Another smile. _Tell me how you feel first._

Agron’s fingers clenched slightly over Nasir’s arm and the smile on Nasir’s lips became more obvious.

“That’s just not fair.”

_You can talk._

Agron couldn’t come up with a retort for that for longer than he liked. “Not when you make points like that,” he eventually muttered. Nasir laughed but became serious again quickly. There was still warmth in his eyes but Agron could tell that he really wanted for the Paladin to answer him. He really wanted to know.

He really shouldn’t have been surprised that they’d stumbled into talking about what he was struggling to figure out. So far the two of them had shown a propensity to just end up talking about serious topics. Things that Agron would avoid like a Plague Oni weren’t as detestable when he was facing Nasir’s kind eyes and gentle demeanor.

“I feel like I wish you didn’t have a sealed core.”

Allowing subjects he didn’t usually delve into didn’t mean this was any less of a challenge for Agron and that’s all he could bring himself to say. But that alone was a lot and he believed that Nasir wouldn’t let him down in hearing what he was really wanting to say.

He wished that Nasir didn’t have a core that he felt he had to seal away.

He wished Nasir hadn’t had to resort to a seal that took away more than his connection to his core.

He wished that Nasir wasn’t stuck in this limbo between normal humans and users, not really belonging to one or the other.

He wished that Nasir could just be himself, every part of himself, including the part that was a user.

The part that Agron could form an affinity with.

What would it be like to have an affinity with Nasir? Not a platonic affinity like he had with Duro since they were brothers who cared deeply about each other and wanted that connection to each other but the kind of affinity that took hold between those who fell in love, who wanted to be everything to each other: friends, family, lovers, whatever that kind of love meant to them, just more. The kind of affinity that was a connection to the one who he gave his heart to and who trusted their heart with him regardless of his faults and weaknesses.

Nasir stood upright from his relaxed position and Agron let his hand drop from his arm. But he ended up chickening out, lowering his eyes from Nasir’s face so he couldn’t see his expression. He didn’t want to see rejection.

Which wasn’t fair to Nasir because he was limited by not being able to _tell_ Agron if he was rejecting him. Sure, Agron knew enough signs for Nasir to tell him he didn’t want him back, but he just wasn’t paying attention.

How the fuck did people do this? It was nothing like talking with Duro, Agron only comparing because Duro was the only person alive that Agron loved, no matter that it was a love for his sibling, it was still a kind of love and that should have translated over to being able to give Nasir a fair shot at responding as Agron had fucking asked for!

Effectively having chastised himself, Agron took in a deep breath and closed his eyes briefly to gather his courage and look at Nasir.

He didn’t get that far.

He was aware of Nasir taking a step closer, close enough that Agron could feel the warmth of his body through his clothes. Both of his hands cupped either side of Agron’s face before they pushed back along his cheeks so his fingers curled around the back of his head. Then warm, soft lips touched Agron’s, lightly at first and then pressing in more securely after a few seconds, Agron guessed as Nasir’s way of making sure he wouldn’t have to dodge a punch.

Not that Agron would _ever_ hit Nasir for kissing him. Not when it was exactly what he wanted.

Just to make sure Nasir understood how welcome this was, Agron reached up with his own hands, his left settling at Nasir’s side while his right trailed up Nasir’s arm to his shoulder, up his neck, along his cheek, and then over his hair which was unfortunately tied back in a ponytail as it usually was.

Their lips parted but the two remained close, feeling each other’s breath on their face. Nasir let his hands slide down Agron’s neck to rest on his collarbones, his fingers starting to pick at Agron’s shirt absently, the fidgeting unusual for Nasir who was a very still person most of the time. Agron’s own hand slid further back to the crown of Nasir’s head and he did his best to remove the hair tie quickly but smoothly so he didn’t pull Nasir’s hair just because he preferred the long, black hair loose. Nasir let him, though. He even huffed out a laugh as Agron ran his fingers through the smooth hair to help it settle around Nasir’s neck.

He’d never figured himself for being such a sucker for long hair. He’d been with a few people before - one woman when he was young to cement in his head that he was attracted to men and then a few of those throughout the years - and none of their hair had ever been something as appealing as Nasir’s was.

Before Agron really realized what he was doing, his actions secondary to the racing of his mind, he was kissing Nasir again, their lips pressing together much more securely. Then Nasir angled his head a little and Agron opened his mouth to lick at Nasir’s lips slightly. But Nasir answered the action, opening his own mouth beneath Agron’s and his own tongue passed his lips to touch Agron’s, the men tasting each other hesitantly. The hesitation passed quickly, Agron unable to hold himself in check as he slid his tongue along Nasir’s and into the other man’s mouth, moving about to run across Nasir’s teeth and the top of his mouth a few times, feeling Nasir’s breathing hitch when he did so.

He was shifting his position then, needing to feel more of Nasir. He slid forward enough on the stool so that he could turn to face Nasir completely, hunching just a little to accommodate the height difference between them though he remained mostly seated. The hand at Nasir’s waist slid further along Nasir’s body, settling at the small of his back so he could keep a secure hold on the man as he continued tasting him.

And Nasir followed along, let Agron change their position to be much more intimate. He let Agron taste him, returning the act when Agron seemed to be backing off. Nasir’s arms moved again at some point, wrapping tightly around Agron’s neck and hugging him closely, Agron feeling the most content he could ever remember being from that alone.

As a Paladin, protecting others was important to him and this made him feel like Nasir would let Agron protect him.

Eventually, when Agron felt like his lips were going to make it obvious to anyone what they’d been doing, he eased away from Nasir’s lips, only to then trail kisses along Nasir’s jaw back toward his temple and then down toward his neck where he quickly stumbled on the tightening of arms around his neck and a pleased gasp from Nasir to let him know that the neck was a good spot to pay attention to. He held himself back for the moment though, working back up toward Nasir’s lips for one final brief kiss before he angled his head and rested his forehead against Nasir’s.

This was something he’d only done with Duro before, who accepted it easily enough and had once declared it a show of affection he was all for since neither of them were really touchy-feely guys. And it was a show of affection, though Agron already felt that he got something different from doing it with Nasir. The other man filled his awareness like this. He felt the warmth of Nasir’s skin on his face, felt his breathing against his nose and mouth, was able to breathe in his scent, and when he opened his eyes pretty much all he saw were dark brown eyes only a few shades off of black looking back at him. And they remained in that position for many minutes after their breathing had returned to normal.

But Agron calming down meant that his brain recovered and he was reminded that he had been struggling about this for very real reasons. So even though he really didn’t want to, he had to talk to Nasir, and that meant pulling away so he could see Nasir’s responses. His left hand moved back to Nasir’s hip and his right hand untangled from Nasir’s hair to drop to his other hip, not able to bring himself to let go completely. He didn’t want Nasir to think that after all that, there would be a rejection. He just needed to be honest with Nasir.

When he spoke, it was in a low voice, like he was afraid to break the closeness between them. “I’ve been trying to figure things out, you know. About what to do between us and what it means for me to be working for the P.P.O. I like working for the organization; I get a little more freedom than I would have with the Devas or the U.E.A. and that’s worked for me up until now.” Nasir’s expression was starting to close off, like he was getting ready for what Agron wasn’t going to say. Agron leaned forward to give Nasir a quick kiss on the lips before he pulled away and continued. “I like you more, though. What I’ve found here, not just with you, but finding someone who could be a friend like Spartacus here has really got me thinking that maybe I’m not in the best place for me anymore. And Sura, Naevia, and even Crixus no matter how much of an asshole he is, they’re all people I’ve felt close to when I haven’t had that in a long time. The P.P.O. isn’t the only place that will allow me to fight, to be of use against the Oni. I’ve been thinking about what it would be like if I wasn’t there anymore, about what if I was here instead.”

Nasir was frowning now in that way he did when he was trying to figure out how he had to sign for Agron to understand. He settled for spelling it out.

W-o-r-t-h. I-t.

Agron wasn’t sure if that was a statement or a question until he looked back Nasir’s face and saw the expression he was giving him. He didn’t like seeing the doubt in Nasir’s eyes, not when everything he’d known of Nasir had been built on the man being confident and sure of himself. Hell, his willpower alone had kept a seal active for most of his life; the guy wasn’t weak. But right now, he was faltering enough that he was asking Agron if he was worth it.

“It’s not like we’re looking at a price tag here.” Nasir gave a slight smile at that. “I think if I didn’t want to, I wouldn’t have thought about it so much. Besides…” Agron paused enough to bring his left hand up and cup Nasir’s cheek, his fingers curled around the back of his neck to make sure he didn’t look away. “…I’ve learned a lot about you in the last few days and I have no doubt that you’re worth more than you give yourself credit for.” Nasir’s cheeks flushed again and Agron couldn’t help but grin. Well, if this was going to happen, Agron was all in. He leaned forward once more to kiss Nasir briefly on the lips before teasing, “And you just look so fucking adorable when you blush.”

Nasir looked irritated, giving Agron a flat look before he signed very resolutely, _Stop._

Agron grinned wider just as he heard the lock on the front door release and the door opened. He moved his hands from the more intimate touch he had on Nasir’s waist as Nasir stepped away but only enough so that he was again leaning his back against the island, his body still close to Agron’s and the Paladin was elated at what he took to mean that Nasir wasn’t looking to keep this just between them and was willing to allow the others they lived with to see them close.

Honestly, Agron was relieved because he wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep up anything other than the truth. Subtlety wasn’t his forte by a long shot.

Duro walked into the room with Stiles following behind, his hand resting on Duro’s shoulder though he had a collapsible cane hooked to his belt, which was the first time Agron had seen any sort of adaptive equipment being carried by Stiles. Then he recalled that he’d only seen Stiles with Derek and it was Derek’s proximity that allowed Stiles something like vision so it would be sort of moot to have anything with him then.

Based on his expressions, Duro managed to notice the proximity between Agron and Nasir, figure out what it meant, and _not_ make a big deal out of it or hesitate in walking and make Stiles run into him as the younger man was rambling on and obviously relying on Duro to do all the work of guiding him.

Agron didn’t expect his brother to keep the silence up for long.

“Hey, guys,” Duro greeted.

Stiles paused in his talking and angled his head a little, Agron wondering if he was trying to figure out who was there even though they weren’t making any sound. “Which guys?” he asked.

“Agron and Talyn,” Agron replied. “We’re at the island.”

“Oh, those are usually nice. Fun in the sun and all that. Unless we’re talking like Alcatraz Island. That one, I hear, sucks pretty bad.”

Agron gave Nasir a confused look, who was unhelpful as he just looked amused and crossed his arms in a show that he wasn’t going to give any sort of response.

Agron settled with asking Stiles, “What?”

Stiles gave him a wide grin. “Telling me where you are doesn’t really do me any good when I have no idea of what the layout of the room is. And there’s carpet in here, isn’t there? That always muffles sound a little, enough that I have a harder time getting a handle on the size of the room. I know you’re somewhere in front of me, I think about twelve feet straight in front of me. But you could have some Temple of Doom gauntlet of traps between me and you for all I know.”

“Couldn’t that be there whether or not you know the layout?” Duro asked with a smirk of his own.

“So not the point.” Stiles hammed it up as he turned a quivering bottom lip toward Duro. “You wouldn’t do that to me, would you? I thought you were my friend! You’re such an evil Valkyrie! Go back to Valhalla!”

Duro frowned at that. “We’re from Germany,” he said hesitantly.

Stiles rolled his eyes at that as Nasir breathed out a laugh. The nearly nonexistent sound was still heard by Stiles and his face lit up. “Talyn got it! Thank you, Talyn. And here I thought all of you were turning out to be uncultured swine. Seriously, look up the lore on where the names of your dispositions come from. Some of them are pretty funny when in comparison to what the core abilities are but that’s what you get when you have people trying to figure out what the hell was going on in those early core days of hundreds of years ago when some of them were being called gods. It’s actually part of the reason Devas are still called that: part hubris, part remembrance of times we didn’t understand shit so well. Are you seriously from Germany?”

The switch from rambling to a genuine question threw Agron and he had to shake his head to try and focus on what he’d been asked. “Yeah, we were born in Germany. Both our parents were Paladins and there was a bigger need for them here in America so we moved when Duro was a few years old.”

“Right, not as concentrated of a Paladin and Valkyrie population here in the Western Hemisphere,” Stiles declared. He then nudged at Duro’s shoulder as his tone changed to be more of a request. “Mind getting me over to the island. That way if there are traps to be sprung, I can sacrifice you to the cause.” Just as with the other day, Agron was warming up to Stiles’ humor. It just took him a while to adjust to the strange man’s manner. He was becoming more convinced that there wasn’t anyone around who _wouldn’t_ need an adjustment period to this guy.

Duro walked the rest of the way over to the edge of the island and slowed down a little first before stopping and Stiles let go of his shoulder and reached down to get a hand on the counter. “It’s about five feet long and Agron and Talyn are on the far corner, same side as you’re on,” Duro gave a quick explanation. Stiles nodded and kept his left hand running along the counter while his right hovered in front of him to make sure he didn’t walk into anything. Agron leaned over to pull the empty stool next to him away before Stiles ran into it, the seat below the level of Stiles’ hand.

He was surprised then when Nasir reached out and tapped Stiles’ hand once he was close, beating Agron to giving the other man an indication that he’d reached them and Stiles stopped with a grin. Stiles shrugged out of the backpack he was wearing and opened the main compartment and searched through its contents for a short while before he pulled out what he was looking for and then held it out toward Nasir, the shorter man having to lean back a little as Stiles was a little closer than he apparently thought and nearly shoved the item into Nasir’s shoulder.

Agron looked at what he was holding and held in a sigh: it was the stupid air horn he’d tried to give Nasir the other day.

“We’re gonna try this again and now that Sourwolf isn’t around to ruin things for me you can actually keep it.” Nasir reached up to take it from Stiles, who grinned and zipped his backpack up again and tossed it over one shoulder, not bothering putting it on all the way. “He should be here any minute to escort me home so I can memorize the area so don’t let him see it or he’ll just take it again. He’s got an ongoing vendetta against letting me enact my various plots and he’s decided this qualifies.”

Nasir reached behind himself to set the can on the counter in front of Agron.

Stiles was already moving on to the next subject. “So, you two were called in for the assignment specifically but did you know these guys before that?”

“No, this is our first time working in this area,” Duro answered and Agron was happy to let him take the majority of the conversation with this guy.

“Then how do you talk to Talyn? Unless he has the best luck in the world and you guys already knew how to sign.”

“We’re usually with at least Spartacus so he can translate. But he’s also been teaching Agron signing, especially over the past few days where we’ve had the free time. Besides that, we’re taught how to read people, facial expressions, body language, stuff like that. He gets plenty across just with that alone.” Duro finished with a grin towards Nasir, who just raised an eyebrow at him. “Spartacus has a setup for when he’s on assignment so that he can communicate with him but we haven’t had a chance to actually see it.”

“You know Morse Code?” Stiles asked, turning his eyes towards Nasir’s general direction. Nasir nodded and Agron relayed his answer. “Cool. If it comes down to it, worst case scenario where you need to communicate something to me, I learned that years ago.”

“Why did you learn Morse Code?” Agron asked.

“Because history class sucked ass and I needed something to keep me from dying from boredom. Like, literally, I’m pretty sure if I didn’t keep occupied, my brain would have slipped into a coma and would have just kept falling deeper and deeper into the abyss until it just forgot to send the signal to my body to breathe.”

Nasir was smiling again and Agron had to admit he was close to laughing at that one.

There was a knock at the door and Duro checked the screen sitting on one of the kitchen counters that was hooked up to the security cameras before he went to answer the door. When he returned to the room, Derek was following a few steps behind.

“Stiles,” he called out, letting his partner know it was him, though Agron wondered if their affinity meant Stiles had already known.

“Sup,” Stiles replied with a mock salute and Agron caught the uptick of the corner of Derek’s mouth. “You ready to take me back, kiss and make up?” Derek’s smile became a little more obvious.

“Depends. Did you recover at least a molecule of your more tolerable traits?”

“Ouch. No love.”

Derek looked past Stiles toward Agron and Nasir. “His dad’s a sheriff. He made him learn Morse Code when he was a kid. To counter the boredom of history class, he learned the entire history of circumcision and even turned in a paper about it.” Derek had revealed just how sensitive his hearing was to have heard that when he must have been at least still on the sidewalk approaching the house.

Stiles let out a dramatic gasp. “You traitor! How dare you reveal my secrets! How dare my dad tell you about that! I’m surrounded by traitors.”

“Actually, Lydia told me about that one. I’m saving up the ones your dad told me for the right occasion. You ready to do your walk of the route? I took a few and you can have at least two easy and quick options.”

Stiles huffed, still seeming to be putting on a show of it before he walked along the island and then toward Derek, moving confidently as he was pretty much just retracing his steps.

He reached Derek and the Deva reached out and laid his hand on the nape of Stiles’ neck briefly, squeezing just a little in a caress, the motion obviously something familiar between the two of them. Agron saw how the set of Stiles’ shoulders relaxed just a little at the contact, revealing the closeness of their relationship.

Their connection was a strong one, Agron noted, without really knowing how he was so confident from just that one exchange.

Stiles moved to walk around Derek and just before the Deva turned around, Agron waved to get his attention and he paused and gave Agron a questioning look. Agron reached forward to grab the air horn and tossed it to Derek, who caught it easily and then rolled his eyes when he realized what it was.

“I heard that,” Stiles accused as he kept walking toward the door. “I’m blond, not deaf.”

Duro exploded into laughter at that one and Agron was smirking.

“Blond at heart if not in your hair follicles,” Derek shot back as he followed behind Stiles, stepping around him as they got closer to the wall that separated the entryway from the kitchen and dining room, then led the way to the door, calling back to them before leaving, “Thanks. You have our numbers if you want to find a way to kill time tomorrow.”

“Ooh, I challenge Talyn to another duel! And you should totally take on Duro or Agron or both.” Stiles continued on even as Derek closed the door behind them and Agron joined his brother in his laughter as Nasir smiled.

They stayed quiet for a good minute before Agron risked speaking, now more wary of how much range Derek’s hearing had. Then he turned his attention to Duro. “Verdict?” Because he knew Duro and his brother would have been checking their allies in his own way.

“Derek could snap even our necks with a flick of the wrist and yet I’m pretty sure Stiles is the more dangerous of the two. I think the affinity ability is icing for the Devas, the thing they use to allow Stiles to work with Derek officially.”

“What brought you to that conclusion?”

“When we were at the store, he moved differently, his focus wasn’t like what you saw in here. He only cut a corner too close once and he didn’t use that cane at all. Oh, and he hid it well but he’s carrying.”

Agron shrugged as he shifted his angle on his stool, turning to face more toward Duro, easing his left leg around Nasir and resting his right elbow on the island so his hand could brush against the back of Nasir’s arm. Nasir gave a slight smile at the contact and Agron struggled to keep his focus on the conversation. “He was carrying the other day. He and Derek must have some sort of system so he can shoot.”

If Stiles carried a gun, he could use it, Agron was certain. And if he put in the time to get that awareness he got from Derek’s heightened senses to a point where it was useful, he would put in the time to be able to be of reliable use with a gun.

Duro nodded in agreement. They noticed different things about people and trusted each other implicitly in their observations.

And then Agron knew that his reprieve from Duro teasing him about him and Nasir was officially over as he gave Agron a sly grin. “What about you? Got a new opinion of Nasir you want to let me in on?”

Agron shrugged even as he reached out and wrapped his arms around Nasir’s waist to pull him close, Nasir stumbling over a bit at the sudden movement he obviously hadn’t been expecting.

“Nope, nothing new,” Agron replied. “Same opinion I’ve had of him since the first time I talked with him.”

Duro watched him silently for a few seconds before he threw his hands in the air dramatically and wailed, “My brother’s a sap! How did it come to this?”

Agron was extremely grateful they weren’t sharing a room right now so it wouldn’t be as easy for Duro to pick on him without someone else around to curb his wit a little.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of my favorite chapters. For...reasons ^_^


	13. Team

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The allies are all gathered and their strategy takes shape...

They were back in one of the conference rooms of the Deva facility, though a larger one that was more geared toward strategizing of missions as each chair was in front of a computer that had full access to the database.

Well, full access to the Devas in the room and anyone they allowed to log into the system through guest accounts. So, only Derek and Spartacus officially had automatic access while the rest of them were somewhat restricted. Nasir and Stiles – the latter pulling out some in-ear headphones and Derek reaching over to his computer to mess with the settings as Stiles set the headphones aside for the moment – as a consultant and official Deva partner had close to that level of access, having their own accounts to use but apparently there were some things even they needed the Devas to give an authorization code for.

The security measures the Devas had in place in their own building was simultaneously ridiculous and sensible to Agron.

The room was mostly quiet, though Nasir, Naevia, and Spartacus had been conversing in sign language for the past few minutes after everyone had gotten settled in. Agron was able to catch just enough of what was being said to know that they were talking casually, Spartacus updating Naevia on Sura’s recovery and Naevia teasing Nasir about how she noticed that Agron’s chair was moved close to him and she’d caught Agron’s hand resting on Nasir’s thigh when she first walked in.

Duro and Stiles were sitting next to each other talking about whatever happened to come up, Agron was sure. Every time he tuned in to them, it was something different and he wasn’t sure how they’d gotten there from what they’d been talking about the last time he’d checked in.

Crixus was sitting next to Naevia working on his computer, likely taking care of some of his own obligations with the U.E.A. since he still had a job besides what was going on with this assignment. He would look up and watch the signing conversation every once in a while but he was mostly keeping to himself.

Agron was just nervous. Once the three they were waiting on showed up, that was it for the downtime. They were back to work taking out these Oni and that meant a fight they weren’t guaranteed to have the upper hand in. Agron didn’t like that. He wanted certainty that they would all come out of this exactly as they’d gone in.

He just couldn’t shake the feeling that something really bad was about to happen, not because of his Paladin instincts but just a general feeling. It was getting so strong that he was greatly tempted to ask Stiles if he could just pretend that he could use his abilities to look forward in time and tell him they were all going to be fine. He’d take that lie.

But then he remembered that he was a realist and that he probably wouldn’t accept that after all.

The intercom beeped and a woman’s voice sounded through the speaker, “Master Arios, there are two U.E.A. agents here to see Senior Hale.”

“Good. Did Senior Nevitt come in yet?” Spartacus replied as all conversation stopped.

“Yes, he arrived a few minutes ago.”

“Can you grab him when you escort the agents up? Don’t let him convince you he didn’t know he was meeting with me.” Spartacus finished, sounding amused and Agron frowned at him. Nasir gave him a glance over his shoulder and shrugged lightly before turning so he could be seen better by Agron to sign.

_He’s weird. Good Deva but very weird._

Agron smiled a little at that.

As Nasir returned his chair to face the table, Agron reached over to brush his fingers lightly through dark hair. Nasir had surprised Agron this morning when he came out of his room with only the top half of his hair secured back in a braid while the rest hung down around his neck. If they were going to the Deva facility, Nasir had always tied it all back in a ponytail but not today. When Agron had spent most of breakfast either staring at Nasir or with his hand teasing long strands, Nasir had finally signed something of a reason.

_The Deva we’re meeting will steal my hair tie if I have it all back. He says it’s hair abuse for me to do that. And I can’t actually guarantee beating him in a fight so he gets away with anything harmless._

This Deva was really starting to rival Stiles in terms of how strange he was from what little Spartacus and Nasir had mentioned.

Agron rose an eyebrow and asked, “That doesn’t actually sound like enough for you to just put up with it.”

Nasir shrugged and replied. _Let him be annoying and he gets bored eventually. He knows he’s getting to you and he doesn’t stop._

Naevia looked between the two and then said incredulously, “I’m really questioning your priorities in topics of conversation that he understood that, Talyn.”

Nasir just gave a smirk as Agron laughed. “Damn he called it. He said it’d throw you to see what comes up between us for me to know the signs I do.”

Spartacus had been focused on his computer but still added, “Long as you didn’t bet him. He’s about the best character study this facility has.”

“Why would I bet on something like that?”

Duro cut off his conversation with Stiles to chime in. “Because apparently a week is enough to figure out you’re more prone to poor life choices than we thought.”

“Says the dear little brother who decided to tag along through me making all these poor life choices.”

“Naturally, that’s for entertainment value.”

Agron leaned closer to Nasir, his hand resting on the other man’s forearm as he fake-whispered, “Since you’re apparently the expert: that’s a sign of bad character, right? Wanting to watch other people mess up. And not just anyone but his brother.”

“Aren’t you guys German?” Stiles cut in. “Don’t you have a word specifically for that very concept?”

Agron thought he might actually be getting used to the simple idea that Stiles just knew random shit since it didn’t surprise him that Stiles had heard of that.

“Well, yeah, but it’s not exactly good form for someone associated with the P.P.O. to exemplify it.”

“Well, that’s boring.”

“Stiles, the Devas don’t like it either,” Derek interjected. Stiles opened his mouth to retort but the Deva just continued before he could actually speak. “Don’t even act like you didn’t know that already, not when Argent has outright scolded you on curbing your harsher sarcasm when there are witnesses who don’t know you.”

Stiles crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair with a huff. “Well, _they_ didn’t know about that. Come on, dude, part of the appeal of working a mission across the country is taking advantage of people not knowing what you’ve gotten in trouble for.”

“I’ll save them the hassle: everything. Stiles has gotten in trouble for anything and everything.”

“Rude.”

“You’ve been using that one a lot this past week. It’s about time to consider switching it up before you become predictable.”

Agron was also starting to see why these two were actually good for each other, how their relationship and affinity worked.

And some of his tension had eased, the distraction of such a pointless conversation having worked well enough.

There was a knock at the door before it was opened and the woman who had been working as an escort for the visitors – Kore again – stepped to the side to let the three they were waiting on into the room as everyone gathered around the table already stood to greet them.

Two men and one woman, the woman and one of the men between Stiles and Derek’s age while the other man was closer to Crixus’ age, so late twenties. He was on the shorter side, probably around 5’10”, had a lean but solid build, light brown hair that went past his shoulders with half pulled back at the crown of his head, and brown eyes that showed a blend of intelligence and carefree manner that wasn’t as common to find in a Deva. The younger man was a little darker toned, dark brown unkempt hair, brown eyes, and just a few shades more tan to his skin tone. His height was about the same as the older man though he didn’t look as physically strong but Agron thought he remembered that he was also a Shifter so he didn’t need to have muscles to be strong. The woman was of Asian descent, Japanese Agron thought, with long black hair, kind dark brown eyes that were nearly black, a sort of quiet strength about her, and standing near the young man in a way that conveyed the likelihood of an affinity.

This was their backup, the ones that were hopefully going to give them the edge and numbers they’d need to take care of these Oni.

Spartacus stepped out to the side of his chair and moved a little closer to the newcomers, giving a brief wave to Kore as she smiled and closed the door after leaving.

“Thank you for coming on such short notice,” he began, looking between the three. “Introductions are the best place to start since we are not all familiar with each other and we’ll be working together. I am a Master with this division, Spartacus Arios.” He looked to his side toward Naevia, indicating that he wasn’t going to introduce everyone like he had when Derek and Stiles had come. He’d also left out his disposition and Agron wondered if that was for the sake of not making Stiles and Nasir stand out when it came to them.

“I’m Naevia Viri with the U.E.A.,” she continued with a polite smile.

“Crixus Viri, U.E.A.,” the man said shortly to keep it going in order around the table.

“Duro Rasch from the P.P.O.”

“Stiles Stilinski, officially with the Devas because of my affinity with this guy,” Stiles finished with a lazy wave toward Derek.

“Derek Hale, Senior in charge of a Deva division in California.”

“Agron Rasch, P.P.O.”

“And beside Agron is Talyn, who works with me,” Spartacus finished off. “You’ll have to bear with him but he is mute and communicates through sign language, which Naevia, Crixus, and I are fluent in. In here, though, he also has the option of using the computers to send instant messages to us if he finds that easier, which is why we’ve made sure to have the computers set up.”

The younger man spoke next, sounding eager. “Hey, I’m Scott McCall. I work with the U.E.A. now but I used to be a Deva in Derek’s division until I became a Chimera.”

The young woman smiled at Scott, then at the rest of them. “And I’m Kira Yukimura, his partner with the U.E.A.”

“Leaving me to close us out. Deva Senior Gannicus Nevitt, assigned here under the masterful tutelage of the almighty Spartacus. And here I thought I’d be forever condemned to never grace his side in battle.”

Okay, yeah, he was a little weird, Agron noted.

Gannicus stepped forward, giving Spartacus a jovial pat on the shoulder before he moved past him and walked around the table, heading for the empty seat on Nasir’s other side. He delivered a quick, playful punch to Nasir’s bicep as he said, “You’re slipping, Talyn, if you let him get to where he needed this much help. Oenomaus would be embarrassed with you and I’m telling him as soon as I get out of here since we aren’t allowed to have our phones in here.”

Nasir let out a scoff though Agron caught a hint of amusement.

“Don’t give me that. You know he keeps me around just so I can spy on you guys and report back to him. He’s got a thing with making sure people he takes under his wing don’t screw up too bad.”

Spartacus turned to sit back down as Scott and Kira took open seats on Agron’s other side between him and Derek. “Regardless of what Gannicus says, he’s worked with Talyn and I a few times so he’s familiar with us.”

Nasir angled a bit more toward Agron and signed. _He doesn’t know. Sign language or about me._ He crossed his arms once he finished, his right hand resting meaningfully on his left bicep and Agron nodded understanding. He wasn’t surprised there wasn’t someone else who knew about the other man. It seemed like the only reason Naevia knew how to sign was because she had been there when they’d first met Nasir and had chosen to learn and be friends with him. Crixus seemed to only know because Naevia knew and he probably had trust issues if his reaction to whenever Nasir signed too fast for him to understand was anything to go by.

Kira spoke up then, her voice a serious tone now but she still gave the impression of kindness even with that shift. She was probably good to have around in a crisis, someone that helped calm everyone and keep them centered and able to respond well to a situation. “Derek didn’t tell us what we were joining you on. Not even enough to be usual for confidentiality between organizations or divisions.”

Spartacus answered, “We’re under an information lockdown because of these Oni. They may have gained access to personnel files and until we know for sure, we’re not allowed to run any communication through official channels.”

“Good thing we don’t depend on that for operations,” Gannicus mused. “Could you imagine if we were one of those human law enforcement agencies like the cops or the F.B.I. or the C.I.A. who are completely dependent on things like that?”

“For the short-term, we’re alright because of the independence of operation between the divisions, but we are still part of the same organization and we rely on connectivity. If we were certain we could have won against them three days ago, we would have gone on the offensive then. I’ve brought up the file of this assignment for all of you, including profiles on all the Oni that we’ve taken out as well as the ones still a threat. Talyn and I have been working on it the longest and we managed to make reasonable progress before we felt as though we needed to bring in help. But I acknowledge that I may have even waited too long for that.”

Not only the three who had just joined them but also Derek were looking at their computers and Agron wondered if Derek was just double-checking that he hadn’t missed anything since he’d been given this access days ago.

“Sixteen Oni?” Scott said after a short silence. “That’s a damn serious concentration of these guys. Higher than we’ve ever come across?” He finished as more of a question as he looked toward Derek likely for the answer.

“Yeah, by easily double,” Derek answered absently as he was still looking at his computer. “Kira, you’ve done the most travelling out of us: come across a higher number?”

“Of actually facing off against them, no. I’ve worked some areas in Japan where it’s believed Hajime was active where dozens of people have gone missing but there’s nothing to say they _all_ became Oni.”

“And Hajime is?” Gannicus asked.

“The reason we’re here,” Stiles replied. “He’s the big, bad, super-villain Oni of our generation as far as we can tell. At least I think that sums it up well enough when you’re talking about someone whose made it his life’s ambition to destroy the Devas, User Enforcement Agency, and the Protection of the Paladins Organization through the power of love.”

“Or just uniting Oni under that same cause,” Scott said absently, like he was used to rephrasing things for Stiles.

“Hey, we’ve never heard his pitch. How do we know he’s _not_ using the power of love?”

“Because I’m not keen on making that guy sound like the lamest Oni in history, especially considering how much trouble we’ve had actually dealing with him.”

“We haven’t completely confirmed that Hajime is actually involved, just that it’s highly likely,” Spartacus continued undeterred. The man was proving to really be able to handle just about anyone in stride and Scott and Stiles together was obviously an easily distractible combination. “We need to go on a focused offensive against the remaining Oni here. But if we don’t accomplish a complete victory over them, meaning they are all apprehended or killed, there is too much risk of the information they have on us reaching more Oni and entire divisions being put at risk. The dispositions they have left at their disposal are dangerous, influential, and while we have strength with who we had working the assignment, we’ll need more than that to actually accomplish what we need.”

“What are we working with on dispositions for our side?” Scott asked. “We got me and Derek for wolf Shifters, I’m also a Regen even though I’m pretty early in my training for using it, and Kira’s a Wraith and Sidhe Elemental. I’m guessing two are Paladins being from the P.P.O.”

“One,” Agron said with a brief wave. “Duro’s a Valkyrie and we take assignments together.”

Spartacus continued pointing to each person as he gave their disposition. “We have them, Wendigo, Berserker and Seer Chimera, Projector, and Sidhe, Leviathan, and Efreet Dragon. We feel like the addition of you and Gannicus balances us out for more than simple brute strength.”

“Well, yeah, because brute strength means jack shit to about half of the dispositions they’ve got,” Gannicus pointed out. “So, that’s why we’re here in a good enough nutshell. What about the ‘how’ in us being here? Please tell me you’ve actually got a plan for us to proceed with the somewhat haphazard collection of dispositions we’ve got on our side.”

“I was thinking we’d take advantage of having a Deva present who they haven’t seen and shouldn’t have the name of,” Spartacus indicated toward Derek. “If we can get Derek to gather them closer together and make sure there are no civilians around to be in danger, we can close in on them and perhaps they will accept their incarceration.”

Gannicus let out an exaggerated sigh. “Sparty, none of these guys have accepted anything but a flatline. Even the one Agron took out refused anything less than death.” Gannicus must have looked over the report from the attack on Spartacus’ home as well as the profiles.

“If we really want to give a definitive answer on Hajime’s involvement, I go with him and give them my name,” Stiles interjected and Agron noticed Derek’s expression pinch. “His interest in me has nothing to do with the Devas after all.”

“You think Hajime just goes around telling everyone ‘look out for this guy whose name you won’t be able to pronounce and is usually on the opposite side of the country because he’s important and I’d like to hold him hostage again’?” Scott retorted, his tone about as serious as Derek’s expression despite what he’d actually said. Neither one of them liked Stiles’ suggestion and Kira didn’t look like she was going to step in to support him either.

“Why wouldn’t he? He’s only backed off taking the direct approach. And you seem to forget that we’ve dealt with other Oni working with Hajime over the past eight months. I’ve told them my name and have heard their tones change. They don’t admit it, of course, but I can tell since I’ve got nothing besides their fucking voice to work with. And Derek would back be me up if he was able to turn off his overprotectiveness because he’s got the super-sniffer and EKG-hearing.”

“So do I!” Scott exclaimed defensively and Stiles reached over, missing twice before he found Scott’s arm and patted it consolingly a few times.

“Yeah, honey, but you’re not very good.”

Scott glared at Stiles before muttering, “I’m getting better."

“It exposes Stiles, but if he thinks it’s the right way to go about it, he’ll do it no matter what we say.” Derek paused to let out a deep sigh. “And I don’t…disagree with him. Not to be an asshole, but despite us saying that we’d help regardless of Hajime’s involvement, he is ultimately why we’re here, not any unrelated gathering of Oni.”

Gannicus rested his elbows against the table and leaned forward to look at Derek around Nasir and Agron. “ _That_ was not being an asshole?”

Stiles answered instead. “That was him very much not being an asshole. But don’t worry: it’s all a tough guy act and a ‘maybe Hajime is involved’ is actually enough for us to stick around for the duration.”

“Yeah, we’ve done that a few times,” Kira added as she finally seemed to really finish up looking over the files displayed on her computer. “Don’t worry. None of us actually mind if we help out against Oni when Hajime isn’t connected. Just like we’re happy to be able to help you out now, regardless of the circumstances that led us to being here. They have just about every disposition there is to mess with people’s perception at their disposal. It’s not going to be easy to ensure we keep the upper hand against them. I can’t fight through that many dispositions and be able to interrupt their abilities constantly like that would require.”

As a Wraith, Kira could temporarily disrupt the connection between cores and their user once she made physical contact with them. If she was a talented Wraith, she could do that quickly enough that another disposition that required physical contact wouldn’t be fast enough to beat her. And Tiberius Crassus was also a Wraith so it could possibly come down to who had the better proficiency between the two.

Agron felt like he had to know who was backing him up. More than just their dispositions and that they worked with Derek and Stiles. “Just how good are you as a Wraith?” he asked, hearing the challenge in his voice but not really able to do anything about it now.

Kira didn’t take the challenge anyway, her passivity maintaining as she answered, “I have trained my core to default to using enough power to cut off a user from their core for four hours. Anyone I use my Wraith core against is as good as sealed for that time.”

“Make no mistake: out of the four of us, Kira is the most skilled with her cores,” Derek said and Agron thought he heard a hint of pride in his voice, likely coming from having known and worked with her for a long time. “We’ll need to figure out the best way to utilize her most effectively.”

“How many times can you cut off core access?” Naevia asked.

“Affecting one core at a time, fifteen. Going for multiples at once, six.”

“That’s a pretty big discrepancy,” Agron noted.

Kira shrugged a shoulder. “Chimeras are different. Their bodies have better connections to their cores as the cores have some measure of connection to each other. Also, if someone they have an affinity with is nearby, the time they’re affected is drastically decreased because of that connection.”

“You said you’re a Wendigo?” Scott asked Spartacus, who nodded in response and waited for the younger man to continue. “Never worked with or against one of those before. Is there a cap on how much energy you can pull?”

“Not really. The increased strength and reflexes will cap at what my body can handle without becoming damaged from the strain but I burn through the power I take very quickly. For example, if I were to drain all the energy Derek has in the core he was born with, it would only power me for a maximum of three minutes and the rest would be discharged. It’s a protective measure against pushing the limits of what a human body can endure when it isn’t as natural or permanent as it is with a Shifter or Paladin. But, unlike Berserkers who are left completely drained when they fully activate their cores, I can continue on, draw from a core again for another boost, and will simply get more fatigued after each drain.”

“Is it an automatic complete drain?”

“No, I can adjust it to match what I need. It also means I have some measure of protection against any of their influence. Any of the dispositions that require them to use physical contact, I can immediately change the power they are using to try and affect me into a charge as long as I know what they’re doing.”

“And with Gannicus, we have someone that can counter their Dragon and remaining Elemental cores, regardless of the elements they control.”

“Unless there’s a Titan in there. He doesn’t have that,” Stiles pointed out.

“Titans are about the easiest to counter, though. Nothing less subtle than throwing chunks of the earth at you,” Duro said with a grin.

Gannicus glanced between Agron and Duro. “I guess that leaves the Paladin and Valkyrie to figure out. I mean, no offense guys, but from the looks of things it isn’t going to be a matter of a straight-up fight and that’s what your dispositions are for. I mean, I’d point out Crixus is just about as useless but his affinity with Naevia makes him tolerant of influence against him since she’s a Projector. He can at least use that to his advantage against a good percentage of these guys.”

Duro’s grin disappeared and he looked irritated. Agron barely managed to keep a handle on his anger but Nasir uncrossed his arms and reached out with his right hand to brush his fingers briefly against Agron’s bicep, the contact comforting, which was more effective at helping Agron rein himself in than he thought was possible.

Instead, Agron took in a deep breath and gave Gannicus an even look, though he figured it was closer to a glare than he wanted to admit. “Haven’t worked with many Paladins, have you?”

Gannicus gave a dismissive shrug. “Nah, never had need of them. I’m good enough in a fight.”

“Being a Paladin isn’t about being a fighter. If it was, there’d be no point to the P.P.O. since the Devas and U.E.A. have sufficient combat training programs.”

“Paladins are about being the ultimate shield against harm,” Duro interjected. He was better about explaining things and he was a bit more sensitive to the differences between Paladins and Valkyries since it was the parts he wasn’t capable of.

“No, that’s what Qilins are for.”

“No, Qilins are for creating barriers, not _being_ the shield. Qilins rely on being able to figure out what they need to defend against. Paladins do that without the guesswork. They just know when there’s danger and can find the source faster than any other disposition. If anyone here decided to be a genuine danger to someone in this vicinity, Agron would pick up on it as soon as they were decided.”

Stiles spoke then, sounding a little confused, “I thought that was only toward people they were close to. It didn’t require an affinity, but it wasn’t a thing capable between the Paladin and anyone on the street.”

“That was true when it was revealed to be an ability of Paladins a few hundred years ago, but it’s been misinformation for about the past three generations.”

“A good percent of our training is learning how to suppress it so we don’t get overwhelmed. The passive range on it averages what we can pick up with our natural senses,” Agron added. “Focused on a specific person, which is where there is still some truth to the familiarity requirement, it can extend out to a few miles depending on the strength of the Paladin.”

“What’s your range?” Spartacus asked.

“I can focus in on up to four people with a range of five miles if I bypassed all my safeguards. Reasonably standard for a Paladin of my age and experience.”

“And to put that kind of warning out of range of being useful is pretty fucking stupid if you ask me. And because of my affinity with Agron, I have that same awareness of danger against him. Which works out well since a Paladin’s blind spot tends to be themselves.”

“That’s why you guys work together, isn’t it?” Stiles asked with a slight smirk, like he didn’t need them to answer. “Insurance for the organization on keeping their guys alive.”

“They’ve got a moderate preference for that, yeah,” Agron replied with a grin of his own. He and Duro had been used as examples of how effective Paladins and Valkyrie could be in this modern world for years now.

Spartacus sat up straight in his chair and gave Gannicus a meaningful look. “If I believed they weren’t going to be useful or outright needed in this, I wouldn’t have asked for their help in the first place. Just because we need more than brute strength in this doesn’t mean that the strength we already had wasn’t necessary.”

Gannicus seemed to take a close look at Spartacus, gauge his resolve, and only then did he give another shrug as he sat back in his chair. He gave it a few seconds before he asked, “Well, then what are we going to do? We’ve spit-balled enough. Now let’s actually say what we’re going to do to take these Oni out.”

Spartacus let out a deep sigh and he looked at Nasir for a few seconds, Agron tensing in his seat at Nasir suddenly being the focus of anyone’s attention. He’d been overlooked since they really started talking and, considering the target he had on him with these Oni, that was completely acceptable to Agron. Was Spartacus looking to change that?

“Anything the Oni use to gather forces needs to be taken out. In this case, we’re looking at both people and a place. Marcus Crassus has money and a reputation to throw enough people off and so we can’t let him get a chance to use that as a foothold to cast doubt on the Devas. Just because the general population doesn’t officially have any influence in how we work, it doesn’t mean that we aren’t accountable. If Crassus can convince anyone that we were in the wrong targeting him, we failed. Quintus Batiatus doesn’t have quite the same influence, but Donar said that he’s more familiar to the people at the gym, both Oni and genuine customers that so far have nothing to do with this. People may stick up for the image he and his wife have built rather than any accusations of being an Oni.”

“So they’re the ones we really need to take out? Everyone else is just a means to an end?” Derek asked though his tone was disbelieving.

“No, I’m not saying anyone is unnecessary to take care of but those are the ones that present more of a risk besides how we fight them. They can attack our organizations and have some measure of success. People can’t doubt the Devas, can’t start questioning everything we do or we’ll fall apart. We’re barely keeping up, as you all know. If we start getting caught up in politics we’ve managed to avoid until now, it would be the opening Hajime is looking for.”

“It wouldn’t be the stupidest way to make them fail,” Stiles said with a shrug. “The fact that he hasn’t already organized some huge offensive against our side is most likely because he’s missing something on his end. Some particular dispositions he’s waiting to get a hold of. I bet you whatever Derek has in his wallet that an Ouroboros is one of those and a Beholder is another. Then he has to have people on his side for those cores to be entrusted to so he’s gotta have either regular humans or plenty of users with centers for cores free and waiting.”

“You know for a fact on those dispositions?” Gannicus asked, an obvious challenge.

“He’s said as much about the Ouroboros and history tells us the worst time we’ve had against the Oni was when they had one of those on their side. Luckily, Ouroboros have come with a strong moral compass for the most part. And he certainly didn’t subject anyone to my company for over a year because he wanted them to build character. He was keeping a Beholder around for when he got himself an Ouroboros.” Stiles turned his attention toward Derek then. “You know, we might wanna consider getting all this explanation on tape if we’re going to have to keep going over it.”

“You’d just want to stop it anyway and take over, so why bother?” Derek replied easily. “So, what I’m taking from this is Stiles and I lead the way in, I suppose with me following some investigation that I tell them I’m a Deva and Stiles gives them his name to let us know where they stand on Hajime. Agron at least also comes in with us to act as a first line of defense if they suddenly decide to go on the offensive. You guys close in from other entry points and we hope all of them aren’t going up against a few of us and it ends up pretty evenly separated.”

Crixus, who Agron was surprised had remained quiet throughout the discussion so far turned toward Spartacus then. “I’ve known you long enough. You’re holding back, playing it safe with this. Why?”

“Being okay with basically serving up a couple allies on a silver platter is ‘playing it safe’?” Scott muttered to Kira, who didn’t answer as she carefully watched the exchange.

Spartacus let out a sigh and gave Crixus an even look. “I’m not holding back. I’m trying to do everything I can to make sure these guys don’t get what they want.”

“Spartacus,” Naevia said in a low tone, warning and Agron realized why: if they kept this up, it could be only too easy for them to reveal that, for whatever reason, these guys were after Nasir and they were about to have him walk in the front door again.

Wait, had Spartacus actually indicated that Nasir was going to be involved. He’d seemingly made such a point of not bringing attention to Nasir that Agron now wondered if that was because he didn’t intend to have him be a part of the attack. Sure, he hadn’t mentioned that Stiles was a Beholder, but that was likely because it was obvious that Stiles didn’t tell many people and Spartacus had been respecting that, leaving it up to the user to decide if he wanted Gannicus to know. It was hard to say whether or not that was what he was doing with his omission of Nasir so far.

“I haven’t heard a place for Talyn,” Crixus said bluntly, revealing to Agron that Spartacus not outlining Nasir’s place had been him possibly trying to remove him from the situation. Agron was split between Nasir letting that go and having Crixus bring it up and wanting Spartacus to stick to his decision for whatever reason had led him to reach it. For someone who had been adamant of Nasir’s skill and how he could handle himself – which Nasir had proven with his sparring with Stiles as well as the rounds he’d gone against Derek and Duro the day before – it was surprising to see the shift from Spartacus but Agron would be lying if he said he didn’t want Nasir completely removed now that he knew the Oni were targeting him likely for whatever core he had sealed.

What if Nasir was an Ouroboros? What if he was the one that Hajime had boasted he’d found?

Agron had to get a handle on his thoughts or he’d work himself up past being useful here.

“Well, he probably shouldn’t go in the front door with us,” Stiles answered instead, either not picking up on how Crixus was still directing his point to Spartacus or he’d noticed and was just plain ignoring it. Either was just as likely with Stiles, Agron had learned over the past few days. “Him not being able to communicate with me very effectively makes me a little nervous that I’d lose track of him during a fight and accidentally attack him because he had no way of telling me it was him. And my awareness that’s sorta like seeing anything only works as long as Derek is in range for the affinity ability to kick in. If we end up outside range, I’m actually literally, completely blind.”

“You’ve always sung the praises of having him around on assignments and he’s proven his worth well enough. You’re not backing out on all that now are you?”

“Why are you insisting on this, Crixus?” Spartacus asked instead. “You’ve never been favorable of him being involved with assignments.”

“That’s just because Crixus prefers working alone, except for Naevia, of course,” Gannicus interjected, actually seeming like he was trying to dispel some of the growing tension even as his tone remained light and passive.

“Not liking having a regular human involved with Deva business is completely different than knowing his use.”

“Regular human?” Scott repeated, confused.

“He’s skilled but he’s still fundamentally vulnerable to what we’re facing off against. I’d just like for that vulnerability to not be what costs us this fight."

Spartacus stood and turned to face Crixus, looking irritated. “I have my reasons for allowing Talyn what I do. What are yours for wanting to restrict him more?”

Agron felt his anger rise at that and he found himself standing as well before he could stop himself. “‘Allow him’? Look, you might be a Deva Master but you don’t fucking own him.”

Naevia held out a hand toward him placatingly, which only pissed him off more. “That’s not what he meant, Agron. You understand that Talyn’s position with the Devas is unusual, only allowed because of direct permission from a Prominent. Spartacus’ authority over him isn’t absolute because he can be superseded by the Prominents making a decision concerning Talyn but it isn’t optional either. If Spartacus declares Talyn can’t be involved, Talyn can’t oppose him or he’ll lose his position immediately.” Agron did manage to calm down a little at that explanation, hearing the reminder of Nasir’s official position. He’d gotten so caught up in the urge to defend what he’d heard as an insult to Nasir that nothing else had mattered. And that feeling hadn’t actually passed.

“Then tell him he can’t be involved here and you know precisely why, Spartacus,” Crixus demanded as he stood as well and rounded on the Master.

“Huh, didn’t figure Crixus would go for a full shut-out. Thought he’d just tell Sparty that Talyn should stick to the perimeter,” Gannicus said absently as he crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair and rolled it away from the table, like he was settling in for a show.

“Well, you’re useless,” Agron muttered as he stepped around Nasir and Gannicus and then around the table. He wasn’t sure what he wanted out of this, just that he felt that Nasir had to be protected right now and he’d follow his instincts. “Why is this turning into an argument? Talyn should be where he’s most beneficial to us. Just because some of them have seen him doesn’t mean that the risk to him is any higher or likely to get them to attack than it is for me to walk in the front door when they’ve seen me.”

“That’s hardly the same thing, Paladin,” Crixus snapped and Agron was tensing to take a swing at the fucker when Spartacus stepped up to him and rested a calming but firm hand on his shoulder. Crixus looked briefly smug before Naevia shot her husband a scathing look and he seemed to deflate. He turned his focus back to Spartacus and insisted, “The best place for Talyn on this is nowhere near them and you know that already, Spartacus. Just make it official already and get him out of here.”

“Don’t you think that’s a little unfair?” Stiles cut in. “He holds his own against trained, experienced, high-ranked Devas. How is that not exactly what we need right now? I mean, yeah, sure, there’s whatever you guys are trying to hide from us about Talyn but you’ve just about made that moot with all this. Hell, I wouldn’t want to come along if everyone were talking around me like this just because I couldn’t talk. And, believe me, people doing shit just because of the one thing you can’t do is fucking irritating. And if you _really_ need someone you’ve only known for three days to point that out, then you’re really shitty friends.”

Agron wasn’t at all surprised that Stiles had figured out they were hiding something from them about Nasir. Whether or not he’d figured that out before Crixus had decided to run his mouth was up in the air but it didn’t matter.

Crixus didn’t appreciate what Stiles had to say though and he seemed to get angrier and Agron prepared to get between the two, no matter how difficult that would be from his current position. “You say that as though you have any more right to be there than he does. You’re fucking blind.”

Derek looked over at Crixus and his expression was cold, dangerous. Stiles showed how well he knew his partner because he reached for Derek’s arm, finding his elbow first and then following his forearm to his hand and intertwining their fingers. Derek’s expression didn’t soften but his body seemed to relax enough that he didn’t look like he was going to leap across the table and take Crixus’ throat with him.

Born Shifters, especially wolves, weren’t ones to mess with when it came to those they were close to. They were dangerously protective and Crixus should have known better than to turn his sudden bout of accusations toward Stiles.

“Talyn is taking the perimeter,” Spartacus suddenly said as it looked like Derek or Stiles were going to retort. “If one of them gets past us, he’ll be on the outside to make sure they don’t get away.”

Stiles let out a frustrated groan. “Okay, I only said that as a somewhat more reasonable option than removing him completely, not saying it’s where he should be. Way to give in to the one percent of whiners.”

“Stiles,” Derek warned.

“What? I’m not wrong.”

“I’m not assigning him to the perimeter because you said it. We need someone there, not only to be ready for anyone getting past us but also as backup that can support anyone who needs it. I’d rather that be Talyn than Duro, who is my other option for that placement.”

Crixus opened his mouth to respond, though it was hard to guess what he would have said when the room was suddenly filled with the ear-piercing whine of an air horn and everyone covered their ears then looked over toward where Nasir was seated, holding the horn casually to his right while he watched them, his expression irritated. Agron wondered if he’d tried to get their attention and they’d missed it for him to be giving them a look like that. Though, their discussion was just as likely to have gotten him that mad at them; Stiles had been right about that.

Gannicus, who was the one most likely to have seen Nasir reaching for the air horn, was smirking next to Nasir, looking entirely too pleased.

Agron turned toward Derek, who was still rubbing at his ears and giving Stiles a dirty look. And Stiles was grinning widely, looking even more smug than Gannicus.

Scott glanced up to Derek as well, his hands still pressed tightly over his ears, then exclaimed, “Goddammit, Stiles! Derek and I like hearing things, you know!”

“I thought we took that away from him,” Agron said, irritated.

“We did. Stiles must have snuck it back to him before we finished up sparring yesterday.”

Agron looked back over toward Nasir who was tapping his finger against the computer in front of him while he gave Spartacus a meaningful look. Spartacus stepped up to his computer and looked at the screen, Agron moving closer so he could see over the man’s shoulder, realizing that Nasir had already sent a message to all of them and was waiting for them to read it.

**_You leave me outside, you will find out just how much I can do without you being able to make a credible report of it to Oenomaus._ **

**_I usually agree with where Spartacus officially assigns me because it’s always been a matter of strategy, not fear._ **

**_I’ll be happy to make a point of how things would be different when I don’t agree._ **

“Talyn…” Spartacus said, sounding tired but like he was going to argue. Nasir rose an eyebrow at him and typed out another message.

**_Give me a reason to choose not to be here. See how that goes._ **

Duro leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms over his head as he reclined back. “Well, looks like I’ve got perimeter. It's a good place for me since I’ve already done a perimeter guard of the building and know the layout and can get around faster than he could. You know, being a Valkyrie and all the wonderfully enhanced speed and endurance that comes with it. Good choice, boss.”

Agron fully expected Spartacus and Nasir to be arguing as soon as they got back to the house. Hell, maybe he’d even be able to keep up and understand enough to know what they said to each other this time around.

For now, Spartacus kept an even look at Nasir as he gave their send-off. “Head home for a few hours. There’s usually only a few stragglers working out around nine. We go when we can make sure there are as few innocent people to worry about getting out as possible. You’ll all get copies of the building’s layout to study.”

The silence that followed was awkward as hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And contained in this chapter is the first part of this entire series I ever wrote: Nasir blowing the air horn Stiles gave him to get everyone's attention because they weren't paying attention to him. Sure, nothing about the scene besides Agron and Derek's dialogue is the same as I originally wrote it but, hey, I finally got to that scene and it felt really great! And I'm happy to have reached the point of posting it.  
> Thanks for reading and see you next week! ^_^


	14. Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agron feels like he messed up with Nasir and he can't let it stay that way...

Agron stood outside the closed door of Nasir’s room, hesitating to actually knock.

He didn’t know if Nasir was still upset about how things had gone at the meeting earlier. Agron figured he and Spartacus had hashed out whatever their argument would be before they’d even left the facility based on how the two had pulled a disappearing act for about half an hour and then were all kinds of tense on the drive home. Then, Nasir had gone straight for his room once they were back at the house and Spartacus had taken Roma for a run, asking Agron and Duro to stick around the house at least until he got back.

That had been about an hour ago now and Agron was getting anxious to make sure everything was alright with Nasir. If Nasir was angry with him, he wanted to make sure he apologized for messing up and they were okay before they faced off against the Oni. Not only for the sake of making sure they were focused in the fight but Agron simply hated the idea of going into a fight with regrets that might end up tearing someone apart if one didn’t make it out.

Fuck, that was a terrifying thought.

He was used to the feeling of not wanting to see Duro get hurt. But that feeling being extended to so many others and the intensity he had against seeing Nasir get hurt was disorienting.

But, apparently, it wasn’t enough to get Agron to knock on the fucking door to actually _talk_ to Nasir.

Two days into some sort of relationship between them and Agron was faltering and fucking things up. That had to be some sort of record somewhere.

“I’m going to laugh if he’s just standing on the other side of the door waiting for you to find your spine and knock,” Duro said from his doorway, having just come out into the hall. Agron turned toward his smirking brother and sent him a glare. “He’s a smart guy. He knows plenty about dispositions as well as people. I’m pretty sure he has an idea of what he’s getting into getting close to a Paladin even without me having made a point of it like two hours ago.”

Fully aware that Nasir could likely hear everything they said, Agron stepped to the side of the door and leaned his back against the wall as he ran his fingers roughly through his hair, scratching at the back of his head. “There’s ‘Paladin instincts’ and then there’s ‘ridiculously overprotective’. One of them isn’t exactly healthy.”

Duro shrugged at Agron as he took a few steps closer to where the hall split toward the stairs and continued to where Agron was standing. “It’s new. It always takes your instincts time to settle whenever there’s something new that’s important. But when your instincts aren’t settled, they’re more sensitive and that means you’ll be on a hair trigger for feeling out danger. That’s perfect for what we’re about to face off against. Just work things out with him so you can really take advantage of that and we’ll be golden. And then you can work on figuring out what you’re going to do when it comes to Nasir.”

“What makes you think I haven’t decided already?” Agron had to ask. Sure, his brother knew him better than anyone else in the world but he still had to check in on what his tells were sometimes.

“Because you haven’t knocked. You may be all ‘handle with care’ when it comes to people you care about but you don’t get any less honest with them.”

And he was avoiding getting an answer from Nasir just in case he didn’t like the answer. Fuck, his brother knew him too well. That or he was just so bad at this sort of shit that it seemed like an impressive thing.

Duro rolled his eyes and took a step closer to Agron, lowering his voice to a whisper that shouldn’t be able to be heard through the door. “Don’t worry so much. Luckily, he’s seen your good side.”

Agron frowned as Duro turned to head down the hall and stairs, leaving him with his dilemma. He looked over his shoulder at the closed door and growled out a quiet, “Fuck it,” and dropped his hand enough to his side to tap against the door twice. He listened for movement in the room and felt a little better that he heard steps from across the room, possibly from around the bed approach and then the door opened about halfway before Nasir peered around the frame to see him. Nasir gave him a questioning look and he offered a small smile.

“Hey,” he started, ignoring how lame it sounded because if he thought about that, he’d probably walk away in embarrassment because he knew it wouldn’t get any better. He was so bad at this shit. “Do you want to talk? About earlier?” he said haltingly. Where was the random Oni to attack when he needed something to help him back into his comfort zone?

Nasir hesitated for a few seconds before he gave Agron a nod and stepped back into his room and stood to the side of the door so Agron could walk in and then closed the door once he was clear. Then he walked back toward the bed and sat at the foot of it, pulling his legs up to sit cross-legged as he watched Agron.

Agron wondered if Nasir was aware of just how much that choice of where to sit meant to him and his Paladin instincts. Because to someone who was always compelled to take a defensive position, to make sure he was positioned where he could protect others, Agron being closer to the door, being between the point of entry and Nasir meant there was some part of him that was able to relax just a little. It showed trust in him and Agron allowed his instincts to take that message regardless of how presumptive it was that Nasir didn’t just want to be comfortable because he needed that easing of his core.

He took another few steps into the room, coming to stand a few feet away from Nasir and then he let out a deep sigh as he sat on the floor, Nasir raising an eyebrow in surprise and question.

“I feel like I was out of line earlier, in the conference room,” Agron began, still sounding pathetic. “Getting close to people is tough for Paladins. It turns everything up to eleven and the first days to weeks are best spent without life-threatening events to agitate things.” Even as he was saying it, he didn’t think this was what he should be saying. It was too…generic.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he nearly missed Nasir’s hands moving.

_Why fight Spartacus?_

Agron leaned back a little, resting one hand behind him so he could recline against it, hoping a comfortable position might help him not feel so fucking awkward. “I just felt like I needed to stop him. I’m not sure why.”

Nasir lifted his hands to sign, then hesitated and looked thoughtful but also nervous. And even when he started signing, he still didn’t look like he was confident in what he was saying.

_What he was saying hurt. He’s afraid of me being involved. He thinks that the Oni will find out who I am and they’ll take me like Stiles keeps saying they did with him._

“Did you know that when he was talking or is that what you guys worked out afterwards?” Agron asked to distract himself from his own rise of protective instincts, especially since he was worried that it was exactly what would happen when they faced the Oni with Nasir inside with them.

_Both but mostly after. He tried to get me to change my mind and take the perimeter or even stay at the facility until it was finished._

“Don’t you think it’s a bad idea? They _are_ after you. It doesn’t actually take much for them to figure it out.” Agron couldn’t help glancing down at Nasir’s left arm and looking at what he could see of the seal with the smaller man wearing a t-shirt.

But Nasir shrugged, dismissing the danger like he always did.

_I’ve had more practice hiding than anyone has finding me._

“Spartacus found you.”

Agron thought he might have actually surprised Nasir by pointing that out. It certainly took him a few seconds longer than it normally did for him to respond.

And then, when he did, Agron could only understand about half of what he said between not knowing some of the signs and Nasir rushing his answer.

“Um, what was that?” Agron asked and Nasir actually blushed slightly. This time, he paused in a manner that was familiar by now to be when he was picking his signs more carefully.

_I messed up. I got into a fight and people saw the seal and called the Devas. I didn’t move on quickly enough._

“What’s to keep this fight from not exposing your seal?”

Nasir pulled at his shirt with a slight smile before replying. _Better clothes._

Agron laughed before he could even consider trying to stay serious. It passed quickly, though and he found his gaze returning to the seal.

Seals had never been a big deal to Agron. They were placed on Oni that were apprehended or on people that decided they wanted nothing to do with their cores and took the direct route in making sure their cores did nothing to influence their lives. People just didn’t get attention because they were sealed. So the fact that Nasir’s anonymity depended on no one knowing about his seal was strange.

But Agron couldn’t do anything to change Nasir being involved in this, not when the whole reason he’d gotten pissed at Spartacus had been because of the man’s implication that he controlled Nasir. What the fuck sort of sense would it make for him to argue that and then try and tell Nasir what to do?

That didn’t mean he didn’t have to keep quiet about his concerns, though.

“I get where Spartacus is coming from, being worried about you,” Agron admitted, shifting his gaze from the seal to Nasir’s dark eyes. “I know you can hold your own in a fight. But I also know that fights can go sideways at any time. I’m freaked out at the thought that Ilithyia trying to mark you was enough for someone on their side of things to figure out that you’re who they’re looking for and all it’ll take is for them to see you in there tonight to make a play for you. Glaber was trying pretty intently to get an eye on your arm, like he was sure he’d find the seal there and that might have been because of Ilithyia. And what if you can’t tell us that you’re in trouble?”

Nasir’s eyes dropped for a second and then looked back at Agron, remaining serious as he signed.

_We hope we’re good enough. I’ll be with Naevia and Gannicus. They’ll watch my back._

Agron dropped his head heavily against his chest with a heavy sigh. “I want that to be enough but my fucking brain and core are being really stubborn about not buying it.”

He heard Nasir shifting position before his feet touched the floor and then he kneeled and shuffled up to sit in front of Agron, who lifted his head to watch the approach.

_It’s nice._

“What? I mean, what’s nice, not that I didn’t understand.” Nasir gave him another one of his hesitant smiles at Agron’s fumble.

_People caring. I didn’t have that for most of my life and I forget what it means sometimes._

Agron sat up straight and reached out with both hands to cup Nasir’s cheeks gently. “So I didn’t fuck up too bad?” he had to ask.

Nasir moved his head just enough for Agron to feel the shaking motion in his hands. He let out a sigh of relief and his body relaxed forward, his forehead leaning forward to press against Nasir’s so he could take comfort in the feel of the man so close and accepting of him. And Nasir allowed him a few moments before angling his head against Agron’s hold so that he could kiss him, one quick press of his lips, and then another that lasted a few seconds, then another, until Agron followed him when he moved away to continue and then deepen the kiss. Nasir’s hands reached up and held tightly to Agron’s wrists as they tasted each other.

Agron wanted them to be closer but he was more concerned about making sure he didn’t push too fast. It was important that he didn’t ask anything of Nasir that the other man didn’t want to give. Nasir was the one that mattered here.

Nasir would always be one that mattered more to Agron, that much was becoming painfully obvious.

Not that Nasir seemed too hesitant about this, not when his weight shifted forward and he rose up onto his knees, Agron following his motions by straightening his own posture. But then Nasir was sliding closer to Agron, lifting one leg over Agron’s to rest his knee on the floor on the outside of Agron’s thigh before he slid his other leg to the same position, coming to straddle Agron’s legs though he kept his weight off the Paladin. Agron allowed the kiss to end, though he did catch Nasir’s bottom lip between his teeth as he pulled away. He moved enough that he could get a clear view of Nasir’s expression.

Nasir gave him a smile and Agron couldn’t have done anything but go in for another passionate kiss. Nasir leaned his chest against Agron’s letting his weight relax against the larger man instead of sitting down into his lap, like he was answering his own need to be touching Agron but having to accommodate boundaries he wasn’t ready to expand yet.

Considering how private a person Nasir was, Agron figured it wasn’t going to be a quick thing for the smaller man to be completely comfortable with what they could do together. Hell, despite the rush of arousal at the taste and feel of Nasir, Agron felt like he was at the brink of comfort. It wasn’t a matter of want but of his own boundaries shifting for Nasir as he hadn’t had them shift for anyone else before. This was new and Agron didn’t do so well with new.

Then again, this “new” was fucking attractive as hell and felt good in his arms and against his mouth.

He eased out of the kiss, then slid his lips along the line of Nasir’s cheek, his right hand trailing down Nasir’s chest and then around his shoulder to follow the line of his spine down to wrap around his lower back and hold Nasir against him. He kissed down to Nasir’s neck, the smaller man gasping as his arms wrapped around Agron’s neck and he squeezed him tightly. Agron grinned at the reaction and nipped at the skin a few more times before he just took in a deep breath of Nasir’s scent and held his face in the bend of where Nasir’s neck met his shoulder. He felt Nasir press a soft kiss to his temple and he let his other hand run through Nasir’s loose hair a few times.

This is something he was supposed to get used to, Agron realized. He was meant to know exactly how it felt to hold Nasir.

“I’ll always watch your back. I’ll always be there to make sure you’re okay, that you making a mistake doesn’t mean the Oni get whatever it is they want from you. It has nothing to do with what you can do because I’m pretty sure you’d find a way to kick my ass if we ever sparred.” Nasir breathed out a laugh against his temple as he gave a slight shrug. “I just want to stand with you.”

Nasir rested his lips against Agron’s temple but instead of a kiss, Agron felt movement. He realized quickly that Nasir was mouthing something against his skin but there was no way he’d be able to tell what it was.

They pulled away from each other after a few more moments of just holding each other. Agron didn’t really want to separate but he was aware that Nasir was holding himself upright so he wasn’t sitting in Agron’s lap and that probably wasn’t actually comfortable. So he pulled away from Nasir’s skin, gave him one last kiss and relaxed his grip so Nasir could stand up. Nasir turned to the side, running his hands through his hair as he let out a sigh and then walked back toward his bed to sit on it.

Agron took in a deep breath, not sure if it actually helped to not be right against Nasir’s skin when he did so and stood up as well. He wasn’t sure if he should leave now. He didn’t want to but he didn’t know if it was a good idea for him to just stick around after that or if it would get awkward.

Just as he was really getting into working out the pros and cons of staying, Nasir snapped his fingers to get Agron’s attention. Once Agron’s eyes were turned his way, Nasir gave him another small smile and waved him over. Agron didn’t even give himself a chance to hesitate, just walked the short distance to the bed as Nasir slid further up toward the head to give Agron room to sit where he’d been. Agron sat heavily and then turned his body so he was facing toward Nasir. He took a chance then, extending his left leg out to Nasir’s side so it didn’t stay crossed between them, meaning they’d have to be further apart. He left his other foot on the floor and Nasir waited for a few seconds to make sure he was settled where he wanted to be and then he moved just a little closer to Agron, keeping his legs crossed so that his knees brushed up against Agron’s thighs. He then surprised Agron by reaching out and taking Agron’s hand in his, holding it between them as he gave Agron a smile, the expression so beautiful. And then he let Agron’s hand go so he could sign.

_We’ve got time. We might as well get some practice in._

Agron rolled his eyes and let out an exaggerated groan. “You’re worse than my superiors.”

Nasir gave him a pinched expression. _Really? Compared to the people that order you around?_

Agron gave a shrug as he grinned and Nasir rolled his eyes as he shook his head, obviously amused.

But Nasir had left whatever they talked about open and Agron decided he’d been given an opportunity. He considered what he was going to ask and then grinned again and started signing what he knew of what he was saying. “Fine, if we’re gonna practice, I’m going to take advantage of the opportunity,” he openly admitted and Nasir gave him a curious look. “Tell me something about you. I don’t care what it is, just something that I don’t know. And I don’t really know all that much so you’ve got plenty of options.”

At least Nasir didn’t seem to withdraw at Agron’s request. And that was what it was: Agron was trying to avoid making demands of Nasir. Instead, Nasir seemed to be carefully considering what he was going to say, his expression relaxed and thoughtful as his hands rested on his knees, the fingers of his right hand tapping absently against Agron’s thigh.

And when he did answer, it took a while for them to get through everything he wanted to say since this was practice and so every time Nasir used a sign Agron hadn’t learned yet, he stopped, identified the sign through fingerspelling, had Agron repeat the sign, and then would start his sentence over again before continuing. It was a process that was frustrating Agron this time around since he just wanted Nasir to be able to tell him anything he wanted without having that limitation to their communication. But he still listened to everything Nasir had to say happily, eagerly.

_The mistake that alerted the Devas to me was a fight I had with someone who was assaulting other homeless people in the area. He wasn’t a user but I felt like I needed to do something. I liked the area. It was one I returned to often in my rotation of spots to sleep because it was quieter and didn’t have as many people who were into drugs or dangerous. When the man came along and started attacking people, seemingly just because he could, I just couldn’t ignore it. But I had no training or experience in fighting and he got in a lot of good hits. I don’t actually remember how I got the upper hand but I almost killed him. I remember taking hits and then I was tightening a belt around his neck. I let him go and he ran away. But he had a blade and my shirt had gotten torn in the fight and the seal was exposed. Someone reported it._

Nasir had killed people while working for the Devas just within the scope of their current assignment so that wasn’t exactly surprising. What he hadn’t expected was Nasir revealing that he’d let the guy go, that he’d stopped himself from killing someone simply because he’d realized he was killing them. Nasir had proven himself to be calm and collected in situations that freaked most people out. So to hear of a situation where it could be seen as Nasir freaking out was difficult to imagine.

But then Nasir told him more.

_Spartacus came back every day for those first few weeks after I met him, just talking to me, asking me yes or no questions, though he never asked me about my seal once he saw it that first time. But four days in I got frustrated with him coming back. I wanted to be left alone. People being familiar with me was dangerous. I couldn’t have anyone that could be used as a trace back to me. I tried to stab him and I can’t actually say whether or not I was trying to kill him. I failed, though. He stopped me easily and then he just took my knife and sat down and talked like nothing had happened. And when he left, he gave me my knife back, like he was inviting me to try again next time. I didn’t try again. Four months later and I told him my name. Not long after that, he suggested that I come up with a fake name to go by, something I could tell anyone and stay safe._

Agron was staring, he knew. He didn’t care, though. That was better than he’d expected it would be. He did manage to shake it off though so he could keep their conversation going as long as Nasir was open.

“Why didn’t you try again?” he asked, making sure he signed as he spoke, and Nasir gave him a smile.

_Because he gave me the knife back and returned the next day. You know you’re dealing with someone different when that’s how they respond to you trying to kill them. Spartacus is someone sorely needed in the world we live in. He just cares even as he knows the reality of things. He still hopes. And it gets easier to see a different outcome than the worst when around him. I liked being able to see something different for my life. It’s so easy to just exist that I got lost in that rather than living._

“You’re living now?” Agron felt he had to have Nasir answer this, that it was important.

Nasir smiled again and leaned forward to give Agron a chaste kiss before he sat back and replied.

_What do you think?_

Agron smiled, then cupped Nasir’s head and leaned in to claim a kiss of his own. When he moved away, Nasir looked thoughtful and then his cheeks flushed a little as he signed almost too quickly _We’re trying something different_ and started shifting around. He turned around so his back was facing Agron and then before Agron could ask what he was doing, he relaxed back against Agron, laying the length of his back on the Paladin’s chest, his head resting on Agron’s right shoulder. He glanced over his shoulder to give Agron a shy smile, which seemed completely at odds with the confidence he’d had getting into their position. Then his hands were moving and Agron had to focus on those instead of Nasir’s dark eyes. _You can still see what I’m saying right?_

Agron answered in a slightly breathless tone, “Yeah, I can see.”

_Well, don’t stop signing. This is still practice._

Nasir reached around himself to find Agron’s hands and he pulled them forward so they were surrounding the smaller man’s shoulders. He let go of Agron’s hands, letting his own fall to rest on Agron’s legs and it was getting harder for Agron to focus on words of any language. He let out a nervous laugh as he let he forearms rest against Nasir’s shoulders so his hands hung loosely in front of them. “Um, I think your expectations of me need to come down a few notches. You sitting like that makes talking just about the last thing I want to be doing.” Agron was nothing if not honest and Nasir breathed out a laugh, his body shaking slightly against Agron’s pleasantly.

_The best practice comes from weird places._

“Fuck, you really are worse than my superiors,” Agron complained as he dropped his head onto his arm on Nasir’s shoulder and ended up pressing his forehead against Nasir’s temple once their skin brushed.

Nasir tapped at his hand and he looked up to see what Nasir was signing. _I don’t want to have to choose between talking with you and being close._

That was the moment Agron became fully convinced that no Oni would ever take him down. This man in his arms would be the death of him and it would be the best end anyone ever met.

They stayed like that with only minor changes in position so they stayed comfortable for the next few hours, not talking as much as Nasir had implied they would be, only saying and signing a few things here and there as they just enjoyed each other’s company while they could. And when there was a knock at the door, neither of them really seemed to want to move if their complete lack of changing position was any indication.

“Nasir? Agron? We need to get ready to head out,” Spartacus called through the door, sounding like he really didn’t want to interrupt and Agron believed that with how encouraging Spartacus had been about the two of them getting closer.

Nasir turned and placed one last kiss on the corner of Agron’s mouth before he slid off the bed to stand as Agron took in a few deep, calming breaths. A few hours and he was still just as keyed up about having Nasir close as he’d been when Nasir had straddled his lap. He’d consider complaining if he thought he could even fake being serious about it.

Nasir clapped his hands twice and the door opened, Spartacus moving to step in but was knocked to the side as Roma hurried around his legs and up to Nasir, her front paws hopping off the floor in her excitement as her tail swung back and forth quickly. Nasir just watched the dog with his arms crossed as she gradually calmed down enough to sit, her body practically vibrating as she waited for Nasir to pet her now that she was sitting like she was supposed to.

“She’s been laying outside your door since we got back. We should probably just move her bed into here with how little she sleeps in my room,” Spartacus said with a smile as Nasir reached out to scratch at Roma’s ears, the dog licking at his hand and wrist as he got close.

Nasir responded, signing only with his right hand and that caught Agron off-guard in picking up what he said but he managed and felt proud for doing so. _She sleeps on my bed so why worry._

Spartacus looked at Nasir, likely trying to figure out if he was kidding or not and Nasir didn’t give away any indication one way or another and just continued to pet Roma.

He eventually settled that Nasir was kidding and crossed his arms, saying, “Don’t start that again.” He turned back toward Agron and elaborated. “When we were really getting to know each other, he’d do that, joke about something randomly and make me look for his tell. Except his tells are so subtle, most people can’t pick them out. He claimed it was to help me get used to reading people that aren’t as obvious but I think he just used that as an excuse to mess with someone.”

Nasir shrugged and Agron caught a twitch of a smile on the smaller man’s face.

Spartacus turned his focus toward Agron and became serious. “Agron, I’m giving you a screen like the one I wear connected to Nasir. Of course, he’ll be wearing the wire like he did when you guys checked out the gym but I want you to have a more direct connection to him.”

“Is anyone else getting it?” Agron asked as he glanced between the two men, keeping an eye for any sort of objection from Nasir.

“No, it’ll only be the two of us. While some of the others are aware of the real danger to Nasir, the two of us are the closest to him. I also feel like this is something that would help you stay focused, having a more direct line of communication with him.”

Nasir gave Spartacus an incredulous look and then gave a laugh before signing. _The system we use for that is also a specific setup. We only have two screens that are connected to the keypad I use._

Spartacus gave a slight smile before clarifying, “Even if we had more screens, I would only be giving one to Agron. Not having many people have that link to you is also a matter of security for you.” Nasir paused and then gave an accepting nod. “He’ll be on the east access and will be closer to you than me, Agron. And you’ll be working in the larger group so it is likely you’ll be the one in a better position to support him if he needs it.” Spartacus was resolutely avoiding saying “help” and it was sort of amusing. Then he turned his attention back to Nasir, closing the last distance between them and reaching out to rest his hand on Nasir’s shoulder. “Nasir, please ask if you need support. Please don’t take any unnecessary risks that will expose your seal. We can’t allow these Oni to identify you and then tell anyone else who you are.”

Nasir nodded easily and took hold of Spartacus’ forearm to give it a quick squeeze before letting go.

Spartacus seemed to accept that and stepped away from Nasir, turning back toward the door. He then paused and looked to Agron. “That applies to you as well, Agron. Don’t take any unnecessary risks that may get you killed. These Oni have killed enough agents and Devas. I don’t want them to start adding Paladins and Valkyries to their resume.”

Agron stood up, Roma trotting over to him and licking at his hand until he gave her a few pets. “I know and she’s getting spoiled,” he finished with a grin down to Roma.

“Yeah, well, there’s extra people around, Sura isn’t here, and she’s still a little freaked out from the attack. I’m willing to give her some leeway until we finish this assignment. Just be grateful she still likes you or you’d be staying with Derek and Stiles.”

“That seems extreme just for your dog not liking me.”

Spartacus shrugged as he continued toward the door, “She already likes Nasir more than me and I’m her owner. I’m sensitive about it.”

Agron laughed as he looked over to Nasir and caught him signing. _His jealousy is why she isn’t allowed to sleep on my bed._ Agron laughed again and Nasir gave a smile to confirm that he had been kidding.

The two followed the Deva Master out of Nasir’s room and downstairs to where Duro was already waiting next to the front door.

“Stiles said they’re already heading toward the Deva facility and they’ll meet us there before we head to the gym. He said they didn’t bother bringing any of their own gear.”

“Except for Stiles’ gun,” Agron said as he slipped his shoes on.

Duro grinned at him. “Stiles says he forgot he was carrying until they were in the airport heading toward security and so he decided to just bring it along.”

Agron exchanged a look with Spartacus and then they both shook their head in amusement. “How worried should I be about this guy that I believe he’s telling the truth on that?”

“I _think_ he gets it all out of his system when it isn’t life or death but Derek hasn’t actually confirmed one way or another when I asked something along those lines yesterday.”

“He’s beat Nasir a few times. That counts for something,” Spartacus declared then added in a low tone, “I hope.”

Agron glanced over to Nasir, who just gave a noncommittal shrug and passed by him to go to the door. “Well, that’s exactly what we wanted to hear when we’re about to rely on him to help us stay alive.”


	15. Organized Assault

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fight goes to the Gladiator's Ludus...

“We’re set at the east entrance,” Gannicus’ voice sounded in Agron’s ear. “Talyn and Crixus are with me and we’re ready to enter on the signal.”

“Kira, Naevia, and I are set at the back exit,” Spartacus added. “Duro’s in position here for now. Waiting on your signal, Agron.”

“We’re entering now,” Agron replied as Derek opened the main entrance and held it open for Stiles to pass him and step inside. Derek passed the door off to Agron and he walked in with Scott bringing up the rear, though he stayed at the door to make sure no one else entered between now and when they actually started fighting. After that, people would stay clear on their own.

Ashur was again working the front counter and he was on his own.

“We only have eyes on Ashur,” Agron informed through the comms.

“There’s seven heartbeats in the building,” Agron heard Derek’s voice clearer through the earpiece than he did standing just a few feet from him. “Either the Oni you injured found a Regen or there’s someone else in here that we need to be careful of, whether they are an Oni we don’t know about or they’re an innocent that can get caught in the crossfire.”

That was a really handy ability Derek had there, Agron thought. He’d worked with Shifters before, but never a born wolf and never with someone who had trained with their hearing so much they could identify heartbeats throughout a building.

They walked up to the counter, Ashur watching their approach without any of the politeness he’d had when Agron had come in with Nasir so the man obviously figured something was off. And when his eyes fell on Agron, he had a look of intense concentration until he obviously remembered how he recognized him.

But Stiles and Derek had reached the desk and Derek had already pulled out his Deva identification from his pocket and was displaying it for Ashur to see clearly. “Deva Senior Derek Hale and my partner Mieczyslaw Stilinski. We’re here because of deaths of U.E.A. agents and Devas in the area and this place and its employees have been identified as the Oni responsible. You will contact everyone and tell them to come here immediately for detainment.”

“His heartbeat spiked at Stiles’ name. He recognizes him,” Scott said.

“I’ve got the message to Chris concerning our status of working a case involving Hajime ready to send. It’ll be taken care of before we’re finished here,” Kira replied.

“I’m sorry, Deva, but you’ve got to be mistaken,” Ashur responded smoothly.

Derek just crossed his arms, the position reasonably intimidating with his solid build and hard gaze, even as he was standing across from someone just as well-muscled. “No, I’m not. If you’re not going to do what I ask, come out from behind the desk and I’ll do it myself. You don’t have to die for someone else’s ambitions.”

Ashur paused for a few seconds and then just gave them a wide grin, unsettling in how genuinely he seemed amused at being threatened by a Deva. “Mighty Deva of you to think it’s someone else’s ambition. Can’t I just want to kill people?”

Agron was already moving before Ashur finished speaking, darting toward Derek and Stiles as he felt the dangerous intention in the Oni. He grabbed hold of the collar of Derek’s jacket and yanked back and then twisted to grab hold of Stiles’ bicep and he continued to turn so he was between the counter and Stiles as it burst apart, knocking them away.

Stiles showed his level of experience and allowed himself to fall backwards, rolling so he came back to his feet in a crouch as he reached under his shirt to draw his gun, Derek calling out, “Three to four,” at the same time and Stiles fired twice in quick succession, a yelp of surprised pain sounding from within the dust created from the blast the Oni had caused with his Aura core.

They were still in danger, though so Agron knew the hit hadn’t been anything immediately lethal.

Derek stepped up beside Stiles, resting his hand on his shoulder and Stiles let the gun lower in front of him and his eyes closed and a look of intense concentration took over his features. Agron took that moment to tap into his core, allowing his strength and senses to build up to their greatest capability and he reached to his belt where he’d strapped a few throwing knives.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the indications that Derek was tapping into his own abilities, his hair thickening, his eyes changing color to a deep red to indicate that he’d been born with the Shifter core, the tips of his ears elongating, fangs peeking out from behind his lips, and his fingernails extending into thick, hard claws.

The dust was settling a little and the outline of Ashur became visible gradually, the man grasping at his right bicep with blood trailing down his arm to indicate where Stiles had hit him. It definitely wasn’t very debilitating of an injury, especially for an Aura and Valkyrie Chimera; he could either just channel his Aura charge through his other arm or he could tap into his Valkyrie core and the endorphins and adrenaline he could release into his body would make him at least partially able to ignore the pain.

“Three more heading our way,” Derek muttered. “Berserker and Efreet Elemental cores are tapped.”

Agron would have to remember to ask how Derek knew that when they were finished up here when a Seer couldn’t even identify what elements were controlled.

“McCall!” Agron called the other Shifter over. He heard Scott approach though he kept back a little so they weren’t all gathered together in the same spot. And even as he moved closer, Derek and Stiles were sliding slightly away from Agron. Not much but enough so that he wasn’t standing so close to Stiles, likely so the blind man could move with slightly more freedom. “Three unaccounted for. Move to defensive positions within the building,” he said in a lower voice into his mic.

Movement slightly off to the right behind Ashur caught Agron’s attention and he allowed his gaze to focus there while making sure Ashur remained in his peripherals even if he’d feel if he intended to attack. Glaber was the first to come fully into view and Agron allowed himself to be disappointed that it seemed like he’d indeed found himself a Regen to help him recover. Quintus followed but slowed down to keep his distance from the obvious range of the confrontation, Lucretia barely stepping through the door they’d all come through.

He realized that she might not stay or would be able to convey to the other Oni that they were dealing with more than the Deva and associates they could see, being a Telepath as she was. Depending on the strength of that core, she could have uninhibited communication with anyone in the building.

She didn’t feel like a threat so at least she wasn’t currently tapped into her Siren core. And she’d have to be close enough to touch them to be a concern with her Spectre core.

“Damnit, Ashur, you’re useless,” Glaber muttered as he stepped up to stand even with the man.

“Fuck you and fuck off,” Ashur growled back. “You remember that Beholder, the useless as fuck Beholder because he’s blind.”

“Hey!” Stiles exclaimed as he stood up, Derek shifting his position slightly but not moving to intercept his affinity partner.

“That’s the useless fuck right there,” Ashur finished and Quintus exchanged a look with his wife, obviously shocked.

“Hey again since you didn’t hear me the first time!” Stiles continued but then his voice dropped so that Agron could barely hear him and he had to stop himself from giving Stiles a look of shock at how stark the difference was from one moment to the next. “Their priorities just shifted from defending themselves against being caught to taking you all out so they can apprehend me. You better handle that right.”

Agron glanced down at the small screen sewn at the inside of the wrist of the glove he wore on his left hand that connected him to Nasir. He was fully aware of making sure these Oni didn’t get what they were after.

He’d been expecting there to be some form of noticeable claiming of targets between the Oni and so he was about half a second off on realizing the shift in threat from Ashur as the man suddenly sprung towards them, Agron having to sidestep so he wasn’t hit by the punch that had been thrown by the Oni. It wasn’t charged by Aura power but it was obvious it would have been enhanced through the Valkyrie core and that could cause some serious damage, even to Agron as a Paladin. He was about to return the attack when Derek called out “Back!” as he took hold of Stiles and sprung further away from Agron and Ashur. Realizing that Ashur had gathered an Aura blast as he dropped to a knee to hit the floor and it exploded out from under him, Agron jumped away from the debris that flew up towards him. He landed smoothly a few feet away and turned to his left, letting his right hand swing in an arch to release one of the throwing knives toward the increased threat he’d felt from Glaber. Glaber raised his left arm so that the blade imbedded in his arm and he proved that his Berserker core was completely active by not even flinching at the wound. He continued his charge toward Agron, who had to jump past the remains of the front counter so he didn’t get caught up in anything that would trip him up, Glaber following him easily and he had to keep on dodging the man. It was obvious he wasn’t trying to strike Agron, instead going for getting a hold of him so he could plant an Aura charge, which would be more successful at killing Agron than any strike.

When dealing with a Berserker, time was key, especially since their strength and speed could match a Paladin and they had no sensation of pain that could mess with them. But those lasted only as long as their core held out, which was a matter of minutes. Unfortunately, Agron didn’t want to spend minutes dealing with one of these Oni. A few minutes of his focus being on one was time he wasn’t able to help anyone else.

He dodged another swing from Glaber and barely caught the spike in threat from Quintus in time to roll to the side as a line of flames burned through the air where he’d been before it curled around to head toward where Scott was standing protectively behind Stiles while Derek exchanged blows with Ashur. Scott thankfully noticed and he pulled Stiles out of the way.

The sound of commotion from further away caught Agron’s attention and he spared it as Glaber was far enough away and Quintus was targeting Scott and Stiles at the moment. It sounded like it was on the opposite side of the building, meaning it was at the back door Spartacus had been at.

Spreading out his awareness, he noted that none of that team was in danger, merely fighting.

He needed to finish this before that changed, cut down the number of enemies they were facing.

He reached up under his jacket with his right hand and released the strap holding the short sword in the sheath along his spine and drew it as he twisted out of the way of another reach from Glaber, using the same motion to swing the sword in an arc that Glaber wouldn’t be fast enough to dodge – Berserker be damned because he couldn’t sense intentions like Agron could – and the blade sliced across the Oni’s hip and towards his stomach. Glaber let out a growl as he staggered. He may not feel pain with his core active but cutting through muscle that played a part in the gross motor function of the leg wasn’t about pain but functionality and he couldn’t ignore his leg simply not working right. He’d still be able to move, just not as well.

Glaber stumbled for a few seconds before he seemed to figure out how inhibited he was and then he gave Agron an enraged look.

“Agron!” Duro’s voice called to him through the earpiece and he knew that tone. He took a few steps away and then had to leap away as Glaber dropped to his knee and pressed his hand to the ground and a line of destruction from his Aura core exploded upward to where Agron had been.

Only about half of the Auras out there could direct the charge once it left their bodies like that. Agron wouldn’t have been fast enough to have avoided that without Duro’s warning.

Agron ended up coming to a stop close to Scott and Stiles, letting himself ease back a little so he stood behind Scott who was behind Stiles with a hand on his shoulder, still facing Glaber, watching him as the man seemed to need a few seconds to recover. Agron took advantage of that and used his left hand to throw another of his knives, Glaber moving enough so that it caught him in the shoulder.

“This feel like they’re buying time instead of putting it all in considering their Berserker is active to anyone else?” Stiles asked suddenly, which made Agron hesitate in closing the distance between him and Glaber to try and finish it. “I mean, none of our dispositions are time sensitive. Crixus, yes, but he’s not active yet.”

How did he know that?

“Logic dictates they’re getting something ready that needs time to charge up,” Gannicus replied through the earpiece, his voice showing some strain to reveal he was fighting. “Can we just assume we wouldn’t want to see anything these guys have that would require time to get ready.”

Glaber was recovered and so Agron threw another knife, leaving him two more, missing this time as Glaber took cover behind debris of the counter.

“Hey, Sourwolf, let’s take out some of the guesswork,” Stiles said in a whisper that Agron barely heard even through the earpiece. Derek would have heard it clearer than anyone else though, especially tapped into his core enough for his appearance to have been altered.

“Stupid time for a field test, Stiles,” Derek growled back, his voice deepened from the shift.

“Hardly a field test. You’re up, Scott.”

The last was declared in a louder voice and Scott only hesitated a little before he leapt around Stiles toward Ashur, interrupting his attack against Derek and the Deva Senior rushed back toward Stiles to take the protective position over him.

Then, just barely as Agron was reacting to the sensation of a threat from Glaber, Derek stated, “Roll. Seven.”

Stiles tucked into a forward roll and even as he was coming back up to his crouch, he was firing his gun three times, the change in angle from his roll meaning he didn’t shoot Agron and the bullets instead passed by him and two caught Glaber, one in the hip close to where Agron had already cut him and the other further up in the stomach. The Oni stumbled forward a few steps and then fell, the Aura charge in his hand detonating when he caught his fall on his hands and he was tossed by the blast, landing unconscious a few feet away.

His Berserker core was depleted.

“That’s one less for the moment. See if you can double that by the time I’m done,” Stiles declared and then Derek grabbed hold of Stiles and moved him further way from where Scott and Ashur were still fighting.

Agron didn’t wait around to see what they were doing, already turning toward where Quintus had allowed the fire he’d ben controlling to extinguish. Elementals tended to tire quickly, better suited for quick bursts of power while Dragons were better with extended uses of their abilities. But he was still an Esper and that could be complicated to deal with depending on how well trained he was with his core.

Agron noted that he couldn’t see Lucretia anymore.

He swore he saw a flash of panic once Batiatus realized that Agron’s focus was on him now. He recovered his composure almost immediately though and his left hand twitched as Agron felt the threat and figured he was carrying a lighter since Elementals could only work with what already existed. He was already moving to interrupt Batiatus gaining any advantage and he threw another knife and Batiatus barely let go of his control over the fire and held up his hands defensively.

The knife flew off its course and passed over Batiatus’ head harmlessly.

Not waiting to see if that was a simple reactionary use of his Esper core or if it was a demonstration of all he was capable of with it, Agron was already charging forward, stabbing out once he was in range.

Before he struck his target, he felt like there was suddenly something grasping onto his left wrist over the cloth of the glove and pulled at him, affecting his aim enough that he missed Batiatus. He was able to follow the motion so that he didn’t fall over but when he swung again, the sensation repeated and he missed again.

“Fuck the gods,” Agron muttered in frustration as he understood the skill Quintus held as an Esper.

Espers couldn’t manipulate living things but any inanimate object was fair game. However, anything in motion was significantly harder to control and most Espers couldn’t reach that level of proficiency in their control. Being able to control something being worn by a person was as close as they got to something they weren’t capable of and it was no small feat.

For about a split second, Agron was tempted to take off the glove he wore on his left hand to remove that option but that would mean he’d be removing his connection to Nasir and he needed to protect that. He could switch the weapon to his right hand but he preferred to wait a little longer on that, because regardless of his Paladin core making the concept of a dominant hand practically moot, he also didn’t like to risk injury to his dominant hand for when he wasn’t tapped into his core if he could avoid it.

There was a flare of danger toward Derek and Stiles and Agron was turning before he really acknowledged what he was reacting to. Ashur had broken away from Scott enough that he could charge toward the two. And neither of the men moved in response to any threat and Scott was still regaining his footing and wouldn’t be up and moving soon enough.

So, Agron drew and threw the last knife he had on his belt, leading Ashur enough to account for his enhanced speed.

But just as Agron’s blade buried into Ashur’s shoulder, the strength Agron had put into the throw actually forcing him to the side and off his feet, Agron watched as one of his own knives penetrated completely through his left hand and he was forced to drop the blade he’d been holding as he’d been throwing with his right hand.

“Agron?” Duro called to him and he shook off the surprise at the wound.

“Nothing major, Duro,” he replied as he pulled the knife out of his hand and turned back toward Batiatus, who looked pleased even as he struck a flame with the lighter in his hand and began manipulating the fire to make it grow around him. “You won’t get another shot like that in again.”

“Don’t be so sure just because you’re a Paladin,” the man replied. “You’re just like any other Paladin, caring too much about what happens to everyone else in a fight. It’s the easiest weakness to exploit.”

“Right, and you’ll run out of power before you make enough progress against me to make a difference. Your dispositions aren’t known for their longevity.”

“Well, then it’s a good thing I’ve got a way around that.”

Agron didn’t need to focus on dodging as Batiatus struck out with his fire and that allowed him to consider what that might be.

Not that he needed long, not when he knew Lucretia’s dispositions. It was likely that her combination of Telepathy and Siren meant she might not need to actually speak in order to use her abilities and a semi-common ability for Sirens was giving boosts of strength to cores of other users. A simple “you’ve got more power” was all it took and a core could recharge some of its used power. Sure, it was dangerous as that power had to come from somewhere and that usually was other parts of the body and people’s organs had failed because a Siren had told them that. But when it came to affinities – which Quintus would undoubtedly have with his wife – certain limitations were bypassed because of the connection between the two people. The affinity itself, made up of a melding of the two’s core discharge, could be a source of power for his core to draw from.

Agron dived for his sword when his dodging brought him close enough and he coiled his body to make a leap right for Batiatus, holding the sword close to his body to hopefully give the Esper less to grab onto, especially since he was still focused on his Elemental abilities. Disregarding the burns he got by ignoring the fire, he came within range and thrust the blade out, catching Batiatus in the abdomen just below the ribcage.

Batiatus stumbled back and the fire faded away without his control. Agron kept hold of his sword and it pulled free of the Oni’s body. He glared at Agron and waved his arm in a wide arc in front of him and while Agron felt that he had the intention of wanting to hurt him, it was obvious he couldn’t focus enough to actually gather his power. Switching his sword to his left hand with only a minor twinge of awareness of the wound there with his core accessed, Agron closed the short distance between them in a quick step and swung a hook right for the man’s temple, Batiatus crumpling to the floor without any indication of remaining consciousness. With his strength enhanced as it was, it was possible that Agron had hit him with enough force to kill him but it wasn’t necessary to check at the moment; if he wasn’t dead, he wouldn’t be in any shape to keep fighting.

Just Ashur was left here and then they could turn their attention to the other Oni that the other teams were fighting. And with the break, Agron could feel that there was still the general danger of a fight toward everyone – including Duro so he had jumped in to back someone up - so they were all still engaged in some manner of combat.

Turning his attention to where he’d last seen Derek and Stiles, he was surprised to see Stiles hunched over, skin pale and clammy, and his breathing labored. Stiles hadn’t been attacked as far as Agron knew even though that wasn’t even what it looked like he was dealing with. He looked sick, like he was about to puke and it looked like Derek was struggling to decide if he should give all his attention to Stiles or keep it split like it was between his affinity partner and the fight nearby between Scott and Ashur, who were still pretty evenly matched in their strength and speed even as it was obvious Ashur was the better fighter.

“Derek, what’s going on over there?” Agron asked, covering his ear with his hand even as he made sure he didn’t block his view of any of the people still up and moving in the room.

Derek glanced over to him but didn’t answer and Agron was about to ask again when Stiles spoke, his voice as strained as his appearance.

“One of these guys can destroy cores,” Stiles announced and Agron caught how Scott faltered in his current attack and Ashur caught it enough to land a solid punch to the Shifter’s abdomen, high enough that he could have broken some lower ribs if not causing organ damage. Derek leapt from Stiles’ side, likely since Agron was free to watch over Stiles now, and he took back the fight with Ashur, who was looking more and more pissed off that he’d basically been kept from making any serious headway against them with that switch.

And Scott’s reaction was completely understandable: a user couldn’t survive their core being destroyed. Not even Chimeras with their multiple cores would live through the damage that caused to their system. Stiles had just found that their current opponents had the most dangerous ability there was.

Agron sprinted over to Stiles, though he had to skid to a stop when Stiles suddenly lifted the gun and pointed it right at him once he got close.

“Hey, it’s me,” Agron announced. Stiles held his position and Agron was surprised to realize that Stiles’ pupils were pinpointing, like they were reacting to the light in the room. He squinted at Agron for a second and then lowered and holstered his gun.

“Don’t approach without telling me first,” Stiles warned.

“Who can destroy cores?” Agron pressed once he was in a defensive position beside Stiles, looking toward where Scott was sitting up and taking deep breaths so he’d likely managed to avoid serious damage from the hit he’d taken. Shifter bodies were tough when the core was active and that might have just saved Scott’s ass.

“Wasn’t able to figure that part out. It’s not anybody we’re up against or I’d have been able to see that.”

“We’d take an educated guess on this. It’s sort of important,” Gannicus’ voice interrupted before Agron could ask anything else.

“If I had one, I’d give it to you. The dispositions we’re dealing with don’t tend to come with that ability attached but with so many that affect perception and complex thought patterns, it’s hard to call what their limitations are. Not to mention the Chimera factor.” Stiles was frustrated, that was obvious. “I can’t even figure out which outcome is most likely here. It all looked too much alike.”

It hit Agron then, something that he should have been more acutely aware of instead of dismissive of because Stiles and Derek had done such a good job of letting it not be as big of a deal as it really was: Stiles was a Beholder. He could perceive future possibilities. Then again, he was blind and so Agron – and he figured all of them who didn’t know better – had assumed that Stiles couldn’t use his visually based core, blind as he was. They’d been wrong and had been led to be wrong by Derek and Stiles.

Agron supposed it was fair considering they’d had their own deception going where Nasir was concerned, especially since Stiles had already been in danger because of his disposition.

A low tone sounded in Agron’s earpiece as the screen on his wrist gave a short vibration, alerting him to a message sent from Nasir and he was extremely grateful that he was in a situation where he could look at it immediately.

**_Marcus and Ilithyia are here_ **

**_Tiberius is at the other exit_ **

**_Does that help narrow the possibilities_ **

Agron frowned, not really getting the question. He was getting ready to ask when another message came through.

**_Ask Stiles_ **

“Talyn says he’s got Marcus and Ilithyia there and Tiberius with Spartacus. Does that help?” Agron conveyed and Stiles gave him a look, the direction of his gaze actually matching up with Agron’s location better than it usually did.

“How does he know to ask?” Stiles said, sounding suspicious.

“Ask later!” Crixus snapped, obviously stressed. “You guys are keeping Talyn sidelined right now so he can chime in and we were already matched and I’m not using my Berserker core unless I know it won’t get someone killed when it depletes and I’m too exhausted to fight.”

“Agron, stay with Stiles. Scott, get back in here,” Derek called just before a blast on one of the far walls of the room shook the building.

Just how long could Ashur keep this up? Sure, Valkyrie cores took a long time to use up but Ashur had been fighting for a matter of minutes now against Shifters and he had to be feeling the strain by now.

Scott disappeared into the dust that had been kicked up by the Aura blast and Agron turned his attention to tracking the danger toward everyone since he couldn’t see any of them now.

“It’s not Tiberius,” Stiles suddenly announced. “It’s either Ilithyia or Marcus. But I didn’t have the time to get anything besides the fallout. Whichever it is, they need to know the disposition and it takes about eight seconds of sustained contact with the person for the core to be destroyed.”

“That’s a long time to need to keep in touch with someone you’re fighting,” Spartacus noted.

“Yeah, but they’ve got plenty of dispositions at their disposal to make that easier. They just call over their local Projector or Djinn or Spectre or Siren and they have all the time those guys can give them fucking with our brains.”

And they hadn’t taken out a single one of the Oni with those dispositions yet here.

There was another shake of a blast against another wall where the two Shifters were fighting Ashur, though they’d wound up in another room in the minute or so they’d been figuring out what Stiles had learned.

“Agron, we need a hand in here,” Derek said suddenly and Agron glanced down to Stiles, who didn’t seem concerned by the request.

“What about Stiles? You’re definitely out of range for your affinity ability to be working.”

“Stiles can take care of himself well enough to spare you with what we’re dealing with now. Besides, he’s my affinity partner and I’m a born wolf Shifter. I’ll know if he’s in trouble. Scott’s Shifter core is just about exhausted and I can’t take on this Chimera on my own.”

“How is this any different than me telling Duro not to isolate himself because of the risk? Especially since we came in and painted a target on Stiles on purpose?”

“Because if we take out Ashur, I’m not in danger,” Stiles replied. “That was a constant theme and could even qualify as common sense.”

Agron was about to counter when the screen on his wrist indicated another received message.

**_Give them about 10 minutes before you doubt what he says_ **

How did Nasir estimate that?

Agron better get some fucking clarification on a bunch of shit when this was over with.

Agron moved around Stiles, the other man shifting his angle before reaching back to draw his gun again and then raising it to about the line of Agron’s knees in front of him.

“Oh and don’t rely on your sword for this one. You’ll do better empty-handed. It’s why Ashur is using his Aura core as often, to make up the difference for not having your Paladin instincts. And he’s not talented enough with his Aura core to channel it through anything but his hands so that should make punching him in his fugly face less concerning.”

Agron looked back at Stiles for a quick second before he shook his head in bewilderment before he charged through one of the holes Ashur had created and back into the fight.

He was nearly able to make a solid hit upon entering, Ashur’s back facing toward him as he struggled against Derek trying to bear him down to the ground with a tight grip around both of his wrists but the Oni was able to match the Deva’s enhanced strength, revealing how tired Derek was also getting. But Ashur must have heard Agron’s approach because he was able to sidestep enough to not get hit and Derek had to let go of him to avoid a collision with Agron. Luckily, Scott had been ready to jump in and kept Ashur from landing a counter on either of them.

Scott tackled Ashur with enough force that they both tumbled to the floor and rolled apart, Scott getting his feet under him just as Ashur slammed another Aura charged hand to the floor to kick up debris. Agron ignored it as he moved in and threw a flurry of strikes toward Ashur, the man stumbling back at first and then struggling to keep ahead of Agron’s strikes, barely dodging and with the more extended exchange between them, Agron was finding the holes in the Oni’s defenses and the limits to his Valkyrie core. And Agron could continue at this pace and strength for much longer than Ashur.

Derek and Scott were giving him space to work, watching carefully for their chance to be what Agron needed to end this. And Agron was working to set them up. He wasn’t going to assume that they were prepared to kill Ashur – not all Devas were ready for that and Agron never put that on anyone he wasn’t sure could handle it – but if they could immobilize Ashur effectively enough, Agron could get in the final strike.

The opportunity presented itself about two minutes into the intense exchange between Paladin and Valkyrie. Ashur was losing his patience and had charged his hands with his Aura core, the skin shimmering with gathered power waiting for the chance to be released. But the further into the fight Agron got, the calmer he became and he moved with ease to avoid the risk. Then Ashur lost his footing on the destruction to the floor he had caused himself, a gap between the floorboards wide enough to catch his shoe and he stumbled. The two Shifters were immediately on him, taking an arm each and putting all their strength into holding the limbs extended out to the sides, avoiding the shimmer of power in his hands and removing Ashur’s mobility and making it exceptionally more difficult for Ashur to fight back and outmuscle them. And with a Shifter on each arm, their combined strength was too much for Ashur to combat. He still struggled, yelling insults at them that Agron found reasonably creative as he stepped up to the Oni, releasing his sword from its sheath and letting it slide free into his waiting hand.

“On behalf of the Protection of the Paladins Organization, your actions have classified you as an Oni and you have refused to accept sealing and rehabilitation,” Agron declared officially. With witnesses from both the Devas and the U.E.A., he was required to declare his actions to be under the authority of the P.P.O. “Your death is recognized as a result of your decisions.”

Ashur looked up at him, listening, and then a wide grin spread across his face and he let out a boisterous laugh, sounding entirely maniacal. “Then fucking kill me already and save me the sanctimonious monologue.” He let out another laugh. “And you wonder why you pathetic do-gooders aren’t getting ahead in this. Just wait and see. You’ll fucking lose in the end and then finally cores will get to be what they were always meant to be.”

Agron had heard enough and he thrust his sword directly through Ashur’s heart, Derek and Scott releasing the man as he fell backwards with a pained groan, the sword sliding free as Agron remained upright. It wouldn’t take long for the Oni to die now and they had other concerns.

The three went back through a hole in the wall to the main entrance and Agron checked to make sure Quintus and Glaber were still down. He wasn’t so concerned with Glaber since his Berserker core being depleted meant he’d be exhausted for hours, but, while extremely unlikely, Batiatus could possibly still be a threat if he was alive and woke up.

“I got them and then we’ll move on,” Derek declared as he moved toward Batiatus, who was closer, and reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a set of handcuffs. He secured both wrists and then dragged the unconscious man to where the entrance split off to the right where the bathrooms were and dumped him in the men’s room. He then did the same thing with Glaber and then blocked the bathroom door with a sizeable chunk of the front desk’s remains that should at least slow either man down if they woke up. As he returned to the others, he elaborated, “The cuffs have sealing Glyphs engraved that can be charged by anyone who has the ability to seal. I was able to arrange for one of the Devas at the facility to charge them before we headed this way.”

Agron had heard of those becoming more commonly used as the strain on the organizations was growing, as there were getting to be too many Oni to seal and barely enough users with the ability and adequate training to keep up with the need.

“Can I please get someone with working eyeballs to get me out of this warzone?” Stiles demanded even as Derek was already making his way to him. Agron wondered if Derek’s extended use of his core had weakened the affinity ability or if it was simply a matter of nothing was moving for Stiles to pick up on. “Which of you finished off Ashur?”

“Agron, stab to the heart,” Derek replied as he reached Stiles and rested his hand on Stiles’ shoulder as the Beholder stood and holstered his gun, then laid his hand on Derek’s arm and followed it to the crook of his elbow.

“Good, that’s a nice and final option. We gotta find Lucretia so she doesn’t give them a chance to kill a core.”

Agron had just turned when he froze at the sensation of a lethal threat to Nasir which only lasted a mere second before it passed and in the same instant Agron lost all awareness of Duro. There was a flash of pain in his chest, around his heart and core that he’d only felt once before because he’d never formed an affinity with anyone besides his family.

The affinity he had with Duro had dissolved by death and the pain he was feeling was the result.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY!!!!  
> When I was getting ready to write the fic, this was one of the few things I knew for sure was going to happen: a chapter would leave off with this particular cliffhanger. I'm truly sorry as I don't actually like using cliffies, but when it feels right, you just gotta go with it. Please don't wish murder upon me because you never know when something'll be around to grant those kinda wishes... Feel free to let me know how irked you are about it though ^_^.  
> On another note, I love this fight scene so much. ^_^  
> See you guys next week and thank you so much for reading.


	16. Flame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Duro...

“Duro?” Agron called to his brother, not caring that his instincts were supposed to be much more accurate than any other way of communicating. “Duro, fucking answer me!” he commanded when he received no response, not even from anyone else giving him a reason why his brother wasn’t saying anything.

“Wait, what about Duro?” Stiles asked, stopping where Derek had been leading him around the destruction of the main lobby.

Agron’s anger rose and he snapped, “You’re supposed to be the one to know, you fucking Beholder. What the fuck happened to my brother? Why am I feeling the backlash of the death of someone I have an affinity with?”

Stiles frowned as his fingers dug into Derek’s sleeve and the Shifter turned to reach his hand up around the back of Stiles’ neck, just resting his hand against the skin just below his hairline.

“That’s wrong. I checked a lot of potential outcomes and none of them got Duro killed."

There was the booming echo of a blast from across the building and the floor shook momentarily before it went quiet again. Agron looked to Derek, who had closed his eyes and was taking in deep breaths that Agron almost got even more pissed about until he remembered that Derek was a Shifter and he might be able to tell what had caused that.

“Duro’s not dead. I can still hear his heartbeat. But it’s struggling.” He opened his eyes and gave Stiles a comforting squeeze to his neck. “Don’t make me tell you how your core works, Stiles. You said there were too many variables in the fight to get any definite prediction on how things would go. Now, we’re just beyond what help you were able to see sooner than expected so we move on and get back in this fight.”

Agron had probably never seen a purer representation of what a romantic affinity could be between two people: Derek knew what Stiles needed because he knew Stiles. Could Agron have ever reached that point with Nasir if he could form an affinity with him?

He shook off his brain’s defensive retreat from what was going on at the reminder that he’d felt danger to Nasir first and he thought he might have put together something of what had happened.

“Duro went to back up the other team. I felt Talyn in danger first and then Duro was in danger and then he was gone.”

Wait, what if these guys were targeting Nasir because they wanted to destroy the core he had sealed? What if it was the opposite of what Hajime was planning with Stiles and they were looking to take out whatever disposition Nasir was hiding? They could destroy cores and if they’d tried to destroy his core and Duro intervened to protect him, his core would have been destroyed. And people could survive for a while after their core was destroyed, their bodies quickly failing but the death wasn’t always instantaneous. It would explain why Derek still heard his heartbeat but Agron couldn’t feel him anymore.

Duro could still be alive but would be dying because his core had been destroyed.

The screen vibrated against his wrist as messages were received in quick succession.

**_I’m sorry Agron_ **

**_He protected me_ **

**_He’s still alive_ **

**_Gannicus and Crixus are pushing them toward Spartacus to distance us from the fight_ **

**_They’re still struggling to hold them off_ **

Agron knew where he had to be. He eased off how much of his core he was accessing, feeling his body relax and weaken to its natural strength. He kept his awareness and reflexes active though so he wouldn’t lose track of his guard over his allies. He turned toward his companions, Scott and Derek watching him. “I need to go take care of Duro. The others need help still. Gannicus and Crixus are trying to converge the two fights. Either join them or find Lucretia if she isn’t already sticking close to them.”

He almost expected to have to fight against one of them for how he was basically stepping out of a fight they needed all the help they could get on. But he knew he wouldn’t be much help while he knew his brother was dying and it was likely they understood that because Derek just gave him a short nod. “Just don’t drop your guard. We’ll get a location on Lucretia so she doesn’t take advantage of our perimeter being exposed. Keep your comms open.”

“Right.”

He watched as they worked their way out of the room and then heard them pick up the pace down the hall once they were clear of the damage the Auras and Batiatus had caused. He took in a deep breath, trying to calm his racing mind and heart as he knew what he would have to face now and it was worse than any Oni in the world.

How was he supposed to be okay with his brother dying? What was he supposed to do once he was alone? He’d never been alone. He didn’t know how it was supposed to be alright.

He wiped his hands down his face, ignoring the wetness he felt against his palms as he took off toward the east end of the building. It was likely their fighting had led them away from the actual door but he could follow the path of damage easily enough. And if Gannicus and Crixus were leading them toward Spartacus, they’d be heading in the opposite direction of where Agron would be coming from.

He cut through the normal weight room and then crossed through the hall toward the weight room for users, seeing evidence of some of the fight coming this way but only a few scorch marks and holes in the wall so it hadn’t been much. But he still took a careful look inside to make sure he didn’t miss Nasir and Duro. They weren’t there.

“Help me out here, Talyn,” he said in a low voice but it still should have been enough for his mic to pick up.

He got his answer a few seconds later.

**_Three doors down from the user weight room_ **

Agron followed the directions and reached the door, it leading to one of the rooms that was used for smaller classes and he entered, seeing Nasir in the far corner with Duro curled up on the floor next to him, looking pained. The room looked mostly untouched so Agron figured the fight hadn’t actually made its way in here, just that Nasir had taken cover here with the injured Valkyrie. He closed the door behind him but didn’t lock it, figuring he’d handle it if it was an Oni who walked through the door next. He crossed the room and kneeled down next to Nasir, reaching out to place his hand on Nasir’s cheek and urging him to face him.

Nasir’s expression itself was blank but his dark eyes were brimming with unshed tears. Agron brushed his thumb under Nasir’s eye in acknowledgement and Nasir turned away from him and back down to Duro. He then grabbed his keypad with the small display from the floor next to him and quickly changed a few settings before he started typing, Agron catching enough to realize Nasir had changed it to only send to Agron’s screen. Agron took his own precaution and grabbed the control box for his mic and earpiece out of his jacket pocket and switched it over to receive only so no one would hear them. He kept the box out though just in case he had to respond to someone trying to contact him.

**_Marcus is the one who can destroy cores_ **

“How?”

**_It’s because of his Chimera combination of Qilin and Berserker. He charges a Qilin seal with power from his Berserker core and it becomes destructive, tears apart the core he targets. He needs to be in contact to build the charge._ **

“Hold on,” Agron said with another quick touch to Nasir’s cheek before he switched his mic on. “Marcus Crassus is the one who can destroy cores.”

“Understood,” Spartacus replied. “We’re all here so you don’t need to worry about Lucretia. Focus on Duro.”

Agron turned his mic back off and moved forward a little so he could rest his hand on Duro’s shoulder and rolled him to lay on his back. Duro let out a pained groan and his hand moved to clench at his chest over his heart.

Where his core had been.

“Easy, Duro,” Agron said soothingly and ignoring how his voice broke.

Duro’s eyes opened slightly and he looked up to Agron as his free hand went to take hold of Agron’s and squeezed it tightly. “Don’t you dare claim that you could have handled that one. I assumed it was some sort of barrier or a seal until just before he got hold of Nasir.”

Agron turned back toward Nasir, who was looking like he was struggling more to maintain his control over his emotions. “If he couldn’t prepare it in advance, how’d I miss it? How did I only catch a second of a threat to you before it was Duro in danger and then barely any delay before his core was destroyed?”

Nasir looked to the side and then he turned to face more toward Agron and held out his arm, revealing a gap in his sleeve running down the length of his bicep, enough of his skin exposed to see the seal. Nasir signed his response instead of typing it out.

_My core is sealed and so it’s exposed. And it is just a buildup of a Qilin barrier until he makes contact and adds the Berserker power._

“Then they are trying to destroy your core,” Agron mused as he dropped his gaze to look at Duro’s pained expression as his brother obviously struggled to keep his breathing even. He caught Nasir going back to his keypad with Agron looking away.

**_I’m sorry. I should have realized what Marcus was doing sooner._ **

Nasir stopped typing and clenched his hand into a fist. Agron looked to his face to see that Nasir was mouthing something as he closed his eyes tightly, his control over his emotions slipping even more.

Through Agron’s own rush of emotions he was having difficulty keeping track of, he knew he had to say something to Nasir to help. “Nasir, we had no reason to believe that their reason for targeting you was to destroy your core. And with Derek and Stiles telling us about how they were targeting cores to have for themselves later…”

Nasir’s hands started moving slowly even as his head remained lowered, the smaller man looking so defeated.

_I should have known. Should have seen the point behind them looking for me._

“Why? What makes it so you should have known what none of us could?”

Nasir took in a deep breath and looked up at Agron, some of his control and composure seemingly regained.

_I know my disposition._

Agron had to admit that was a good point. Nasir’s disposition was why he’d had it sealed, not that he’d simply had a core.

Duro let go of Agron’s hand and curled forward enough so he could reach Nasir, giving a playful shove to his leg. “I don’t need to know what you’re saying or know you as good as Agron does to know that you’re gonna blame yourself for this. Don’t you fucking dare. I liked looking out for people, helping them. Its why I remained active with the P.P.O. Agron thinks it was because I was sticking close to him and that’s part of it but I was doing what I wanted to do. It’s just bonus that I was able to take the hit for someone I got to know enough to know for sure that you were worth the risk.”

Nasir was starting to shake his head emphatically in denial. He’d also started mouthing words again and Agron was surprised to see that. Agron had never seen Nasir mouth words unless he was teaching and practicing with Agron. Agron had figured that being mute since he was a kid meant that any inclination to try and talk was long gone but it was like he was just unable to help himself as he got caught up in his emotions.

Which this was also a first: Agron hadn’t seen Nasir so uncontrolled and taken with emotion.

Duro gave Nasir an even look, conveying his seriousness as he continued by saying, “You don’t get to say who I think is worth risking my life for. Besides, my brother really cares about you. As in I’ve never seen him like he is with you with anyone else. See, he doesn’t do so well on his own but I figure you won’t let that happen, not with the way you look at him and talk to him.”

Agron’s chest tightened in a way that had nothing to do with the dull ache from the severed affinity.

Duro took Agron’s hand again and squeezed it tightly, taking a few strained, deep breaths, likely having to get his pain back under control. He then looked up at Agron with that same serious look and asked, “You’d decided already. Pretty sure you made your choice in the first few days we were here. Your brain would have caught up eventually.”

Of course Duro had figured out what Agron had been struggling with and of course he’d seemed to know Agron better than Agron knew himself. After all, Duro didn’t have Agron’s pride getting in his way of figuring his brother out. But he’d also always let Agron figure things out for himself so, again of course, he wouldn’t have outright spelled things out for Agron. He always wanted Agron to make his own decisions, just like Agron had always wanted the same thing for his little brother.

This was bullshit. Out of all the fights they’d been involved in, _this_ was the one that ended up getting one of them killed.

Nasir startled Agron by suddenly standing and turning away in a quick motion, his hands clenched at his sides and his shoulders and back just as tense. Agron wanted to say or do something to try and calm him down but he was just lost as to what he could do, especially as he was barely keeping himself together, only managing because Duro was still alive, awake, and aware.

There was a sudden tickle along Agron’s awareness. He frowned in confusion, not recognizing the feel of what he was picking up on. It wasn’t necessarily any of them being in danger but there was still the sensation that something dangerous was happening. He was just turning to position himself more defensively when his attention was grabbed by a ripple of power pass along the lines he could see of Nasir’s seal, looking like it usually did whenever a user built up their power. He kept his eyes on Nasir’s arm, watching for it to happen again, just in case he hadn’t seen things right.

After only a few seconds, he saw the same thing, only it was clearer, a more obvious build of core power.

And it was like Agron’s instincts didn’t know what they were feeling either. There was still that tickle on his awareness that indicated something was happening that he needed to pay attention to but it wasn’t clear if it was because there was a danger to anyone or not.

Agron moved to stand when Derek’s voice coming through his earpiece startled him, “Agron, what the hell is that?”

“What?” Agron replied before he remembered that he’d turned his mic off. He dropped back down to grab his control box and switched his mic back on, glancing over to Duro, who had closed his eyes but was still conscious based on the pinched expression he had. Either way, he was likely unaware of what was going on. Agron wanted to stay with him but he was torn by his need to know what was going on with Nasir. He looked back and noticed that the ripple of power was now visible on Nasir’s hands and on the left side of his neck, gradually pulsing out farther from his seal. “What?” he repeated to Derek.

“I’m picking up the scent of a core I don’t recognize but no one else has entered the building. What’s going on?”

“Not sure,” he replied honestly as he turned his mic back off, then reached up to remove his earpiece, not wanting any distractions from what was going on in this room and took a hesitant step towards Nasir. “Nasir?” he called and Nasir’s shoulders tensed up even more, the smaller man curling into himself in a way that made Agron’s chest clench. Nasir shouldn’t ever feel like he had to hide himself, let alone from Agron. With that in mind, he reached out to rest his hand on Nasir’s left elbow, below the rip in the sleeve but still making contact over the seal.

He nearly let go immediately, though, as a jolt of power ran through his hand and up his arm toward his chest. The feeling was hot, like holding his hand too close to a fire where it was just on the brink of burning.

And in that moment, he didn’t feel the spasms of pain from the absent affinity. And then the heat seemed to spread throughout his body and he just felt better. Besides the stab through his hand, he hadn’t had much worse than just small cuts, bruises, mild burns, and the general tiredness that came from extended use of his core but that all seemed to fade away once the heat passed through that part of his body.

What the fuck was going on? What did that?

His hand remained on Nasir’s arm and he shook off his shock at what had just happened to step up right beside Nasir, watching as Nasir’s mouth continued to move, his eyes clenched shut as the pulsing of power now rippled up his head and reached across his neck toward his opposite shoulder.

Agron stepped completely around Nasir to face toward him directly, taking hold of both arms in his hands and gave a slight shake to try and get Nasir’s attention as he called, “Nasir, please look at me!”

It was only when Nasir stopped mouthing and went still that Agron noticed that he’d actually been hearing what sounded like the barest of whispers. And they’d been coming from Nasir. He didn’t have the chance to react to that as Nasir listened, his eyes opening and raising up to lock gaze with Agron.

They were frozen looking at each other for a few seconds before Nasir gave the explanation that was needed for exactly what was going on, speaking in a voice that was low and rough from not being used for so many years: “I don’t want to be sealed.”

It was like saying it like that was the last bit of Nasir’s opposition against the seal, like he’d been fighting it until that moment because the pulsing stopped at once with one final ripple of power that passed over the entirety of Nasir’s body and then followed along from where Agron had been holding him to pass over Agron’s body as well and Agron’s instincts immediately went still. There was nothing around for his instincts to pay attention to and they just faded to the back of his mind where it always resided when he didn’t have them active.

Then the room went completely still, like everything around them was holding its breath as Agron and Nasir continued to look at each other. And then Nasir reached up and cupped Agron’s cheeks before he pulled him down enough to kiss him. He then let his lips rest against Agron’s as he whispered, “I can make this better. I can’t fix it but I can do enough. Just trust me enough not to stop me.”

Agron didn’t respond, still quite dumbfounded by what was going on and trying his best to catch up even as Nasir gave him one more kiss and then pulled out of his hold and went back to Duro’s side.

Agron shook his head and then followed Nasir, dropping down and again taking hold of Nasir’s arms to get his attention back on him. “What the fuck are you talking about? And you’re _talking_! Nasir, what are you doing?”

Nasir looked back toward Agron for a few seconds and then gave him a sad smile. “Trust me, Agron,” he repeated.

Before Agron could say anything else, Nasir eased his arms out of Agron’s hold and Agron felt a wave of warmth radiate out from Nasir’s body before focusing in at his hands. Nasir then reached out for Duro, pulling at the bottom of his shirt to expose his chest and then pressed his hand over where Duro’s heart was. The skin was already a dark purple of bruising, showing the damage from his destroyed core.

Core power was gathered around Nasir’s hand but there was also waves of heat coming off his skin, like his skin was on fire but there were no signs of burning on him or on Duro when he made contact with his chest.

But Duro did take in a harsh gasp once that contact happened. He reached up to grasp at Nasir’s hands, but Nasir only pressed his hand more securely against his skin, Duro shouting in pain at the increased pressure.

Nasir watched Duro fight against him for a few seconds, his eyes full of emotion until he let out a weary sigh and closed his eyes. “I can do this,” he whispered and his body erupted with a wave of heat that filled the room, Agron covering his face protectively until the heat seemed to pull back toward Nasir, hovering around his body like a barrier between him and everything else.

It was core power, Agron realized as the heat seemed to twist around Nasir while appearing completely controlled. That was the only explanation for how it moved. It didn’t matter that Agron didn’t know of any disposition that had power act like that. He’d seen enough cores at work to recognize the commonalities, the way it moved around Nasir similar to what he’d seen from Elementals and Dragons. It was only unusual because core power itself didn’t usually have any heat to it like this did. And something about how it moved around Nasir seemed defensive. Agron felt like if an Oni tried to attack Nasir right now, they would be attacked with the power surrounding the man. What he’d felt from his Paladin awareness, the sensation that what he’d felt could be dangerous was a good indicator to back that up.

Agron was so focused on how the power was behaving around Nasir that he missed it when it started seeping through Nasir’s hands and into Duro’s body. He only noticed because Duro had started groaning again though he wasn’t struggling against Nasir’s hold anymore, almost like he understood that whatever Nasir was doing was supposed to be helping him.

But nothing could help him, Agron couldn’t help but think. Not even a Regen and their abilities based around accelerating healing could save someone from their core being destroyed; the nature of the damage was beyond that disposition. A destroyed core always meant death. Hell, even if a user passed their core off to someone else through an Entrust using an Ouroboros, their body gave out within a month if they were lucky. It wasn’t as bad as a destroyed core and the damage that caused but a user’s body couldn’t survive without a core. Once the human body had a core connect with it, the core became as vital to survival as the heart or brain they most commonly were centered within. It was just that simple.

And as Agron looked between his brother’s face pinched with pain and Nasir’s expression tense with concentration and possibly some discomfort as well, he couldn’t help but doubt that whatever was happening was something he should be allowing. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Nasir – he did probably more than made sense considering how much Nasir lived in secrecy – but rather that he couldn’t stand people he cared about being in pain. How could causing more pain be helping?

The room was also becoming more and more reminiscent of the power that Nasir was putting off, the heat that he was producing. It was getting stuffy and sweat was practically dripping down Agron’s face at the jump in temperature. And the heat that Nasir was putting out seemed to only be concentrating further the longer he held his contact with Duro.

Then there was a shift in what was happening, a change so slight that Agron believed it was only because of his sensitivity as a Paladin that allowed him to notice it when he did. He was once again aware of Duro, could feel that he was in danger. It wasn’t the same as feeling it through their affinity and more like how he’d kept watch over any of his allies, but it was still there like it hadn’t been since the shock of losing their affinity had hit him. And as soon as he started paying attention to it he was able to feel that what he was feeling was changing, that the risk was lessening. The danger to Duro was passing. Duro still looked like he was in the same amount of pain but that didn’t mean anything conclusive to the actual damage to his body.

Turning his gaze to Nasir, he saw that the other man looked like he was starting to struggle with whatever he was doing. His eyes were clenched closed in strain, the hand that wasn’t on Duro’s chest was on the floor next to Duro supporting his weight and even then he looked like he was close to toppling over. And when Agron’s eyes looked down at where Nasir was in contact with Duro, he saw that the concentration of heat there was actually affecting him. Nasir’s skin was red and blistering and starting to bleed.

Agron reacted instinctively, reaching for Nasir though he wasn’t sure what he was trying to accomplish. He just didn’t want to see Nasir causing himself harm and not knowing what was going on was making it harder for him to do anything but react.

He grabbed onto Nasir’s bicep and squeezed, ignoring the same jolt that passed through him when he touched the seal. But this time there was no sensation of Nasir’s power passing through him afterward. It was all being funneled into Duro. But it was with that contact that Agron felt any lingering tension from his Paladin instincts fade, like his core now understood everything it needed to know that nothing was happening that Agron needed to worry about.

Nasir moved the hand he’d had on the floor and placed it over Agron’s, holding tightly to him even as his body curled forward without the support he’d been giving himself. His breathing was becoming even more labored and Agron moved in closer to wrap his arm around Nasir’s waist, holding him upright so he could continue whatever he was doing.

Agron trusted Nasir, he reminded himself as he watched the inflammation and blistering on Nasir’s hand spread up past his wrist.

Another thirty seconds or so and the power flowing into Duro started to wane, the heat receding back into Nasir as his core seemed to relax back into passivity. Nasir lifted his hand away from Duro’s chest and opened his eyes to look at the damage done to his hand before he moved his hand in against his chest, taking a loose hold of his shirt to keep it in place and at least slightly protected.

“It worked,” Nasir whispered.

It took Agron a few seconds before he was able to formulate his response, “What worked?”

“Duro won’t die. I can’t save his core but I could save him.”

Agron didn’t want to get his hopes up and an entire history of basic functions for cores contradicted what Nasir was saying. But Agron looked at Duro and saw how it looked like he wasn’t in pain anymore. He wasn’t moving, possibly unconscious, but his breathing was evening out and his body was relaxed. Nothing indicated that he was in any pain and it definitely didn’t look like he was dying. Keeping his right arm wrapped around Nasir’s waist as the smaller man still felt like he was relying on Agron to keep him upright, Agron reached for Duro with his left, taking his brother’s hand.

Duro stirred before his eyes blinked open and he looked around before his eyes landed on Agron and he gave a tired grin before he relaxed again, though his hand gave Agron’s a light squeeze.

Duro wasn’t in any danger. He was safe, according to Agron’s Paladin instincts.

“Nasir?” Agron questioned the man next to him slowly. He was just so dumbfounded by what had just happened that he wasn’t sure just what he was supposed to ask to understand anything.

“I thought it would take more than that,” Nasir said, sounding distracted. His voice was still not much louder than a whisper and Agron didn’t expect that to change as it was likely because of disuse. Or it might even have been aspects of the seal still working; Agron didn’t know enough about the seal to say for sure. He’d need Spartacus for that.

Fuck, what about everyone else that was there? What was he going to tell them? What about his superiors at the P.P.O. who all knew that Duro was a Valkyrie? Duro had just been saved from something that was supposed to be impossible to survive and they had to explain that!

Agron’s mind was racing so much that he had stopped listening to Nasir. His attention was regained when Nasir reached up with his right hand, the undamaged one, to touch Agron’s cheek, gaining his focus immediately.

“Agron, I know that you’re confused about what happened and I know it’s not going to be easy to explain this. But I thought it was better to keep Duro alive than let him die when I could do something about it. He was beyond a Regen.”

Agron shook his head slightly, making sure he didn’t dislodge Nasir's touch, which was helping to keep him focused. “It’s alright, we’ll deal. Thank you. Thanks for saving him, Nasir. Just…it shouldn’t have been possible. Nothing can stop someone from dying from a destroyed core. Everyone knows that.”

Nasir gave him a sad smile. “No, there is one thing that can save a user from the death of a destroyed core. People just generally believe it isn’t an option anymore.” Agron frowned in confusion as Nasir leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to Agron’s chin, not quite able to reach his lips at the angle they were kneeling at with their difference in height. “After all, it’s been a long time since Phoenixes were able to live and work freely.”

Agron honestly didn’t think he’d be able to get more surprised than he’d been while watching his brother be saved from a destroyed core. He was wrong. There was literally no reaction to finding out Nasir was a Phoenix, even as a part of his brain acknowledged that it made sense. Only a Phoenix could have done what Nasir just did.

A voice from the door to the room startled Agron so much that he nearly drew his sword and threw it at the speaker, barely managing to stop himself by recognizing Stiles’ voice.

“Holy shit, I’m not the rarest disposition in the room. That hasn’t happened in just about ever. It’s kinda a cool break.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully the resolution of the cliffhanger was worth the wait.  
> Thanks for reading. Just two chapters left!


	17. His Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the wake of battle, there are some things that need explanation...

There were plenty of details to be laid out about the fight that had occurred between the Oni and the team led by the Deva Master Arios and everyone involved was still getting everything straight even as the ones who went through and cleaned up after them had already started working.

The most basic way of looking at the outcome was that they had succeeded in apprehending or eliminating all Oni involved.

Ashur was dead, killed by Agron.

Ilithyia Glaber had been killed in the fight by Crixus shortly after the groups had converged and the Berserker had finally activated his core.

Tiberius Crassus was dead, cut off from his cores by Kira and when he continued to fight, Naevia had killed him.

Lucretia Batiatus was still alive but was seriously injured, having fought back violently, almost maniacally, when Derek, Stiles, and Scott had found and confronted her. She was to be sealed and treated by Deva Regens.

Her husband, Quintus, was in better shape but still needed treatment for his injuries once he was sealed by more than the cuffs Derek had put on him.

Gaius Glaber had ended up dying from his wounds, though that hadn’t been expected and Stiles had voiced suspicion that he’d been “helped along to the flatline”.

Marcus Crassus had made the mistake of trying to destroy Spartacus’ core, likely not realizing his disposition and Spartacus had managed to completely drain Crassus’ cores. He still put up a better fight than anyone expected, having obviously trained extensively in hand-to-hand combat and Spartacus actually had to rely on the increased strength he’d gained from his Wendigo core to win against Crassus. The Oni was still alive and was another needing treatment.

All in all, the results weren’t so bad considering what they’d been up against and the Oni had given as much of a fight as had been expected. If they’d gone in with anything less, Agron was sure they wouldn’t have won or not all of them would have survived.

Because Duro was the worst off between all of them even as he was still unconscious and was going to be taken to the hospital for observation.

Derek had taken a lot of hits that had earned him plenty of broken bones but his injuries weren’t as much of a concern because as a Shifter, his body naturally healed faster.

Scott had two broken ribs on his left side where he’d taken a direct hit from Ashur but was mostly alright besides that.

Crassus had landed a few hits with a blade on Spartacus’ left shoulder and across his stomach and the Deva Master would need stitches if he decided to forego help from a Regen.

Kira, Stiles, Crixus, and Naevia had come out of it mostly unharmed with only superficial cuts and bruises to deal with.

Agron was still reeling from his broken affinity with Duro. The relief he’d felt when he’d come in contact with Nasir had been temporary and now he had to just endure as his core recovered from the loss of a stable connection that had existed between the brothers for over fifteen years. It was likely that he would be taken off active duty until he passed a stability evaluation with the P.P.O. But nothing could be done for the shock of a lost affinity. It could only be endured and recovered from. And the worst of his injuries had been the stab through his left hand, which had apparently been closed when he came in contact with Nasir when his seal first failed. There was still a sense of damage, but as a Paladin with slightly accelerated recovery that would heal on its own fine.

Nasir was the one currently receiving the focus of Scott’s Regen abilities, his right hand being treated for the severe burns that his own core power had caused. He’d tried to refuse Scott but the Chimera hadn’t backed off, declaring that the burns were just about the most dangerous injury any of them had with the risk of infection and how the scarring would be worse if it was left alone. Nasir had eventually accepted the healing touch but he looked extremely uncomfortable throughout the whole process.

Most of them were gathered in the weight room, having picked that room because it was bigger and hadn’t had any fights take place in it so it was still completely intact, i.e. there would be no point to any of the cleanup crew coming in. Spartacus wasn’t there as he was giving orders to the Devas who had arrived to take the Oni into custody and they were waiting for him to finish up before they really talked about what needed to be discussed. A unit from the U.E.A. had also arrived and Crixus was speaking with them, giving a very abbreviated report of what had happened so they could offer support if needed. Duro had already been loaded onto an ambulance and taken to the same hospital as Sura.

It was all routine as far as anyone else was concerned.

Agron glanced beside him where Nasir was sitting, clenching and opening his right hand to check Scott’s healing, making sure he hadn’t missed any nerve damage. He finished with a quick shake of his hand and then his arm before he gave Scott a nod. “Good work, Scott. There’s only a little superficial inflammation left that will be healed in a few days. Thank you.”

“Hey, no problem. It’s why I’m here,” Scott replied with a smile though it looked forced.

Everyone had been acting carefully around Nasir. Agron didn’t blame them and figured the only reason he really wasn’t was because he’d been in the room when things had gone strange. After all, everyone else had only had some very vague idea of something happening because of Derek’s sense of smell. They’d been left mostly in the dark and Agron did feel a little guilty about being part of the reason they’d been in that state.

Agron turned on the bench he and Nasir were sitting on, throwing one leg to the other side to straddle it and slid a little closer to Nasir. He took Nasir’s hand, running his fingers over the healed skin in his own test of Scott’s Regen work. Nasir allowed it easily enough and then interlaced their fingers once Agron stopped pressing against his skin.

There was plenty Agron wanted to ask Nasir but he refrained, knowing it would be kinder to wait until Spartacus and Crixus were there. Instead, he thought of a subject that he didn’t think would be a big deal to everyone else.

“I like your voice,” he stated, knowing he probably sounded stupid but he found he didn’t mind too much as he caught the light flush that rose on Nasir’s cheeks.

Nasir covered it with a slight smile. “I was hoping it would have gotten a little deeper.” Agron grinned at that.

“Nah, it’s fits such a little man.” Nasir glared at Agron for that. “Is this…will you keep your voice?”

Nasir’s eyes dropped to his arm, having taken off his long-sleeve shirt so he was left in his sleeveless undershirt with his seal exposed. When Agron had brushed his hand against it a little while ago, he’d felt nothing from it. It was inactive.

“I’m not sure,” Nasir admitted. “I honestly never thought anything would happen that would make me break the effects of the seal. I can only talk again because my core is no longer powering the seal so I’ve just got a fancy tattoo now.”

Agron forced a grin at that then went serious again. “Do you want to go back to being sealed?”

“I’m not sure. And because I’m not completely sure one way or another, the seal won’t work. It requires absolute certainty. Besides, my core isn’t in position for the seal to reactivate.” Nasir touched his left hand to his side almost at the bottom of his ribs. “My core has been here ever since I finished with Duro. It…prefers there when I’m not using it, and then it goes closer to my hands as I usually use my hands to channel my power. It’s easier to control for me.”

“That’s right. Uncentered cores may move through the body but they tend to like certain locations in the body,” Agron mused, mostly just to say something. “Did you know that would happen? I mean, the burns?”

Nasir watched him carefully for a few seconds before his hand trailed to the bottom of his shirt and lifted it enough to expose his side where he’d just indicated that his core was. There was a thick strip of his skin just above his floating ribs that was raised in a scar of burned flesh and Agron couldn’t help but reach out with his free hand to touch his fingers to the skin. “Yeah, I knew it would happen. The price of the power a Phoenix wields is that it is actually beyond what our bodies can completely endure. Long ago, when we weren’t believed to be extinct, it was standard for a Regen to work in tandem with a Phoenix, not only to perform abilities the Phoenix couldn’t but to heal the Phoenix from the damage their core did to them.”

“It’s like how Beholders get to trade their sanity for what they can do,” Stiles suddenly called from a few feet behind Agron and he glanced over his shoulder to where Stiles was seated with Derek.

“Yes, pretty much,” Nasir agreed as he let his shirt go, the material dropping onto Agron’s hand as he hadn’t pulled away yet. He kept the contact for a few more seconds and then trailed his fingers down Nasir’s side before moving his hand away, Nasir giving him a small smile for that. “There are checks and balances for all cores, limitations that hold us accountable for what we become capable of. Some are simply more obvious than others.”

Agron heard someone approaching and he turned, watching as Spartacus and Crixus walked into the room, talking seriously in low tones.

Derek rose and eyebrow and asked, “Everything alright?”

The two men looked their way and some of the mood seemed to pass. Spartacus replied, “Yeah, cleanup is going smoothly. All Oni are accounted for, the surviving ones in custody. I’ve sent a message to Oenomaus as well and he’ll cover for the gaps in our reports.”

“Oenomaus as in the Deva Prominent Oenomaus?” Stiles asked. “You have a direct line to one of the Prominents? Isn’t that like a big deal?”

It took Agron a second to remember that Derek had been the one to know Nasir was trained by a Deva Prominent.

Spartacus took it in stride, like he pretty much always did. “I’ve known Oenomaus for almost as long as I’ve been a Deva. When he became a Prominent, he allowed me to keep a private number for him that I could use in emergencies. He approved Talyn’s status as a Deva consultant, his cover as being human instead of a user, and trained him how to fight.”

“Nasir,” Nasir’s quiet voice interjected before Spartacus could continue and the Master looked surprised.

“Are you sure?” he asked and Nasir gave him a confident nod as he stood, though he kept hold of Agron’s hand at his side.

“My name is Nasir Hassan. I’m a Phoenix,” he declared to everyone in the room, the low volume of his voice seeming to not matter at the confidence he managed to speak with even as Agron caught the tension in Nasir’s shoulders that revealed his anxiety about telling everyone present his secrets.

There was a short silence before Stiles let out a laugh. “That doesn’t get any less surprising or awesome hearing it twice. I mean, no Phoenix core has been on record for awakening in over a century. It’s the one disposition that keeps researchers from being able to declare that it’s impossible for a disposition to go extinct.”

“It’s why these Oni were targeting you, isn’t it?” Naevia asked.

“What do you mean he was being targeted?” Gannicus asked.

“When we first went to Donar for information, he told us that they were looking for someone with his seal, his tattoo on his arm,” Spartacus explained. “But he was also clear that they weren’t working with full information, that they only knew that they were looking for the person with that marking.”

“I believe Hajime is the one who told them to target that mark,” Nasir continued. “Stiles said he has a habit of knowing things he shouldn’t. But there is one person who knew exactly what the mark looked like and I had to tell him my disposition in order for him to do his job.”

“You mean the one who tattooed the seal,” Agron realized.

“Yes. He was the only person I told before Spartacus that I am a Phoenix. But I don’t believe he’s an Oni. I looked carefully for someone to design and complete the seal and I chose the one I did because he cleared every check.”

“How good of clearance could a seven-year-old give?” Crixus asked and while it seemed like he was just being antagonistic as he was prone to be, he also brought up a very good point.

Nasir gave Crixus a challenging look. “How much do you know about what Phoenixes are capable of?” he settled on asking.

Even though Nasir had been asking Crixus, Agron realized that he only knew the bare bones of the disposition. While a Regen accelerated the natural healing process of the body, a Phoenix reversed the damage, made it like it hadn’t even happened. There were even rumors that a Phoenix could bring people back to life but Agron had no idea if that was just an exaggeration of witnesses seeing people being healed.

Crixus exchanged a look with Spartacus before he let out a growl of a sigh. “The basics, I guess.”

“The disposition was called ‘Phoenix’ not because of their healing capabilities,” Stiles said, sounding excited. “Plain and simple, Phoenix cores don’t die as long as the user has a chance to activate a specific ability. It’s not an entrust because all records of attempted entrusts of a Phoenix core has always failed. The core forms a protective barrier around itself that lasts about an hour and it has that time to find itself another person to call home. But here’s the real kicker: it has to be someone without a core already because a Phoenix can’t be a Chimera and it has to be an infant younger than a year.”

“How the hell does that work?” Crixus asked.

“I’m so glad you asked, kind-of-an-asshole sir,” Stiles replied, somehow sounding as genuine as he did mocking.

Derek pinched at the bridge of his nose. “Some people don’t actually know you well enough to call when they need to redirect you, Stiles.”

Stiles continued unperturbed. “Okay, so it’s not so much about it being within those first 365 days of life, 366 for someone born in a leap year, but more about the hormones in the brain. If the kid has hit that certain huge release of hormones that we get periodically throughout our early development, the core simply won’t take. And, actually, because Phoenixes knew all about this being what was going to happen, they usually had someone picked out that would receive their core, like they’d talk to expecting mothers and decide that they wanted that kid to get their core and would actually pass it on while the baby was still in utero. It was like this whole culture built around Phoenix cores that was totally a thing until the wrong people learned about their existence and tried getting their hands on the cores without realizing that a Phoenix needs to activate the ability and so if they die suddenly, the core dies like any other core would. Poor planning on those poor Oni’s parts.”

“Fine, but what does that have to do with Tal…Nasir…whatever his name is gathering reliable information at the age of seven?” Crixus faltered and looked frustrated about needing to call someone he’d known for years by a completely different name.

It was Naevia who answered, possibly as a means to calm Crixus down a little. “Because cores carry experience. It may not be straightforward knowledge about things the user hasn’t learned on their own but people who have had cores entrusted have an easier time learning how to use their abilities and their survival instincts seem to be stronger, more accurate. There were entire communities and cultures built around specific cores being entrusted through generations.”

“My Phoenix core is over a century old,” Nasir revealed. “That’s a long time to become efficient at reading people, at determining if they are honorable.” He allowed a few second’s pause before his intensity faded just a little and he added, “I also made contact with another Phoenix and they were able to give me a list of resources we had spent a long time compiling, which included a list of names of people who were properly trained in these markings.”

Agron barely managed to keep from smirking at how Nasir had led Crixus – and most of the other people in the room – on with that. Gannicus and Stiles didn’t bother restraining their amusement and laughed.

“Do you know how many Phoenix there are left?” Kira asked.

Nasir looked over to her and then looked thoughtful. “It is, of course, completely possible for someone to awaken a new Phoenix core but they were pretty much exclusive to Western Asia for a long time. But I would estimate that there is likely about a thousand of us worldwide.”

“That’s about as rare as it comes.”

“As is the case for most uncentered cores,” Spartacus said. “When Nasir trusted me enough to tell me his disposition, I knew that if an entire population of a disposition thought it was best to keep themselves secret, it wasn’t my place to ruin that for them. So, when I asked Oenomaus to allow Nasir to become a Deva consultant, I simply told him that he needed to be able to help us and we were fortunate he even wanted to.”

“In regards to why they targeted me if they didn’t know my disposition and I doubt the one who sealed me would have told, I believe Hajime found out about the seal and simply made the decision that he was better off having me taken out. Just because I don’t believe the one who sealed me wouldn’t betray my confidence doesn’t exclude being forced into revealing some details. There is no doubt their whole reason for targeting the one with this seal was to destroy the core being sealed. Hajime was playing it safe and didn’t want to have the core opposing him.”

“Considering what all a Phoenix can do, there’s a reason any army with a few on their side was considered to be unbeatable back in the day,” Stiles said. “So, I’m ready to have some educated information rather than a fuckton of research notes to base my vast knowledge on. What all can you do?”

Now Nasir didn’t look as confident as he looked down toward the floor in front of him and Agron felt his fingers fidgeting against Agron’s hand. He was anxious about answering but still did anyway. “I have the standard ability of reversing damage to someone’s body. If I reach someone within fifteen minutes of their death, I can resuscitate them successfully but I would have to have a Regen present to completely reverse the brain damage from lack of oxygen to the brain. I can resuscitate up to seventy-five people before I run out of power, just over a hundred if they are under a minute since flatlining. Of course I can transfer my core when I die. I also have a reasonable amount of control of using the heat my core’s power produces when active as a weapon and have some increased endurance against fire. It’s nowhere near as potent as an Efreet Dragon but it’s the only offensive use for a Phoenix’s power there is. If I need to, I can train further with it and increase its efficacy.”

“What about using your abilities on yourself?” Gannicus asked. “You say you have resistance to fire but your hand was burned.”

“That was from use of my restoration. We always burn. That was more the reason for a Regen always working with us rather than them being able to perform healing we couldn’t.”

It was strange seeing Gannicus so serious but he was giving Nasir the sort of look that said he didn’t like something about what he was hearing. Agron was curious as to what it was. “So, we’re lucky we happened to bring in a Regen or you’d just have burned hands.”

Agron did somewhat forget that Gannicus had known Nasir for a while now even if it was mostly from a distance.

“I chose to save Duro, just as he chose to intervene and have his core destroyed. I knew exactly what was going to happen. Actually, I expected it to be worse, for more power to have been required to reverse the extensive damage a destroyed core causes the body. I was prepared for much worse burns.”

Gannicus let out a scoff as he crossed his arms and moved like he was going to leave but stopped after a few steps. “Yeah, you belong with the Devas. Pretty sure ‘willing to partake in self-sacrifice’ was among a major requirement.”

“No less than it is part of serving as a Paladin or Valkyrie or as a U.E.A. agent,” Agron replied as he stood up beside Nasir, feeling defensive considering it was his brother that had been saved. “We know the risk when we get involved. And we have overall lower numbers for each organization to prove it. We still have plenty unsolved here, regardless of our success in taking out all the Oni. We still have Hajime to worry about and we need to make sure there were no others these guys gave information to that could mean Devas and agents are still at risk of being targeted. Oh, and I need to figure out how to explain to my organization how Duro is still alive when he has no core so I really don’t think we’re touching on the real priorities here.

“Nasir had his core sealed for a reason. I thought that as soon as I found out about it and that hasn’t changed. I’m grateful he chose to save Duro and I’m pissed that he accepted hurting himself to do so but it wasn’t my call. Just like it isn’t my call what happens to his core now. None of us can tell him what to do about his core just like Spartacus couldn’t tell him to not get involved here today. He’s going to fucking do what he wants.”

Everyone gave him a surprised look and he had to suppress the desire to become even more aggressive to press his point beyond anyone wanting to fight back but he knew that wasn’t the way to go with this.

The silence that followed was tense but Agron remained resolute in his defense of Nasir’s actions. Because Nasir had saved his brother and that’s what really mattered.

Eventually, Stiles broke the silence, speaking to Nasir. “Quick question that I completely understand if you don’t want to answer but I’m gonna give it a shot anyway.”

Nasir gave him a nod to continue and then recalled that the man was blind and said, “What is it?”

“What was your reason? Nobody goes through what you did without there being something to it.”

Agron couldn’t say if he thought Stiles had gone too far asking that. Because while Nasir had revealed a lot in the past few minutes, he actually hadn’t said much really personal. Though it was possible Stiles had picked up on that and was following his curiosity of something he figured Nasir wouldn’t talk about on his own.

And Nasir certainly thought carefully about his answer. It wasn’t immediate and he gave everyone in the room a close look before he seemed to come to his decision, pulling his shoulders back to stand a little taller and look more certain and confident. “I wouldn’t have survived otherwise. You understand, Stiles.”

Stiles looked surprised at what Nasir said and then he seemed accepting and like he really did understand as he gave a solemn nod. In fact, it looked like Stiles was the only one in the room who really did understand what Nasir meant. Agron knew he, at least, felt like he’d missed something there.

Spartacus stepped closer then, coming to stand on Nasir’s other side and he looked around at everyone meaningfully as he spoke. “No one else finds out about any of this. Nasir’s safety is determined by secrecy. We’ll finish our investigation here to try and hopefully find something that will tell us how these Oni knew about his seal but nothing goes in any report about what he’s capable of. And we all know that if his disposition was revealed, he would automatically be placed under Deva protective custody and there would be some official record of his disposition. That needs to be avoided.”

“You’re ignoring Deva policy for one person,” Derek said evenly but it didn’t seem like he was saying so out of disagreement.

“Deva policy isn’t infallible. I’ve always just wanted to see that Nasir remained safe. This is the best way we’ve found to ensure that.”

“Good, we understand each other then.”

Agron frowned before he realized that Derek was doing exactly the same thing with Stiles. Stiles being a Beholder hadn’t been on any of the official documentation connected with his role as Derek’s affinity partner. Derek was already keeping secrets, just like Spartacus was telling them all to do now.

Derek reached into his pocket and handed Spartacus a folded piece of paper. “I said we’re a specialized force for facing off against Hajime, for stopping whatever intentions he’s been working for a long time to see through.” Spartacus nodded. “If you’re interested, we’d like to have you and anyone else here that wants it to remain involved. It isn’t much but we have compiled everything we’ve found and that’s the file number and access code. Accessing the files is your acceptance into the force and you will be saying you are willing to be called in for assignments like we called in Scott and Kira.”

“What about you and Stiles?” Spartacus asked.

Stiles gave a grin as he replied, “We’re in charge of it so we’re always there. Everyone else so far is just support. But this is the first time we’re giving the code to someone who outranks Derek so what we may just be offering to you, Sparty, is another command role. Considering you’re on the opposite side of the country, it wouldn’t be a bad idea. And also considering how this coast has more Masters hanging around, it could mean a more involved position than what you do with your division.”

“We’ll need to verify that with the Master who oversees us but I know enough about the official side of this that it’ll likely be the case,” Derek concluded.

Spartacus unfolded the paper and looked over what was written, frowning. “This isn’t classified as a Deva force based on the file number.”

“We can’t have it be so restricted considering we already have both Devas and agents associated and we need it to be available to civilians that aren’t consultants. Ultimately, anything done to pursue Hajime is merely sponsored by the authority of the Devas.”

“That’s…unheard of,” Naevia said. “I have never heard of anything like that before.”

“Because as far as I know, this is the first time it’s ever been done. The Deva Master overseeing it went to the Prominents after we fought Hajime that first time and this was what they unanimously decided to do to handle it. You’re still Devas and agents, just ones with an extracurricular position that exists on that line between an enforcement official and civilian.”

Agron understood what that meant as it was basically where anyone working for the P.P.O. existed. “Then you can take actions the organizations might frown on because they aren’t officially affiliated with you. If you can’t defend certain actions sufficiently, you could be declared Oni.”

“We all decided it was an acceptable risk,” Stiles said, Derek, Kira, and Scott all nodding in agreement. “We’ve never done anything that’s gotten close, though. Sort of the benefit to being so far made up of Devas and agents is that there’s some guarantee of a strong moral compass involved even as we have the grey area of right and wrong available to us.”

“And considering Stiles exists almost exclusively in that grey area, it’s convenient,” Kira said and it took a few seconds to realize that she was at least partially kidding.

Spartacus looked down at the paper again and said, “I’ll think about it, let everyone else think about it, and then I’ll let you know decisions.”

“That’s fine. We want you to make sure you’re committed and that you won’t back out once you’re in. We’ll probably be around for another day to help with the last parts of the investigation, see if we find anything solid on Hajime before we head back. And even if it’s a no, we’re not saying you can’t contact us if you run into something you need help with.”

“Understood. Thank you. Now, we all have work to do. Let’s get through it.”

* * *

“You know, I can see why people don’t like hospitals. I have never been so fucking bored in my entire life,” Duro griped as he pulled on the shirt Agron had brought him.

“I have. It’s called the ‘mission debrief’,” Agron replied, tossing his brother his jacket.

“Yeah, yeah, you poor thing. Anyway, did you hear they released Sura last night? Apparently, she’d recovered enough that she could be switched over to outpatient treatments for the last few sessions with the Regen.”

“Yeah, I heard. Spartacus was pretty happy. They’ll still be stuck in the Deva rental for another month or so while the damage to their house is fixed but at least she’s alright.”

“No doubt about that. And we’ve got confirmation that the list with the names of the Devas wasn’t shared with anyone, that we took out everyone who had access to it?”

“Yeah. The document was received from Hajime with express instructions that they weren’t allowed to give it to anyone. He threatened that if he found out they shared it, he would cut ties with them and that meant a guaranteed death.”

“Instead of the most likely death or at least incarceration for killing Devas and agents. Sometimes Oni just don’t make sense, like they don’t think they’ll face repercussions for their actions.”

Agron shrugged it off. Everything Oni did was a stupid decision in Agron’s opinion. They could be intelligent and strategic but that held no bearing on their overall stupid life choices. He recognized it probably wasn’t the fairest opinion to have but it helped him be capable of doing his job.

“What else do you have for me?”

“Nothing much. There wasn’t much documented communication between the Oni and Hajime. Apparently it was mostly done in person so there wouldn’t be anything to trace. But we did get an email address out of it that Derek and Stiles are going to see if they can track down anything on. Stiles doubts they’ll find anything as useful as a location but they might get something out of it. They flew back to California a few hours ago.”

“Ah damnit, I was hoping to hang out with Stiles one more time before they left. Fucking Oni. Fucking hospital.”

“Better than the fucking morgue,” Agron couldn’t help but reply, becoming a little terse and Duro became more serious.

“You would have done exactly the same thing, brother, so don’t even start with that shit.”

“I’m not saying I wouldn’t or that what you did was wrong. I’m just going through the motions of freaking out that you almost died, that you would have if we didn’t happen to have a fucking Phoenix in our midst.”

Spartacus had been in earlier and had talked to Duro about what all had happened, partially to get his statements for the report that was going to be sent to Oenomaus to alter and make official, but mostly to update Duro on what he’d missed. There couldn’t be any gaps between their stories after all.

“You’re lucky I know you well enough to hear the awe going on there. Most people would think you were angry about it.”

“I never would have thought Phoenix was what he was hiding. It never even entered my mind as a remote possibility.”

“I’m calling that a good thing. You know what it’s like to be a disposition more than an individual. Can you imagine how much more pronounced that is for something like a Phoenix? That alone would make me want to get sealed up immediately and never look back.”

That was a really good point.

“Have you talked to him about it? About what’s going to happen now that the assignment is closed?”

“About ‘it’, no. We’ve got other priorities right now, like actually making sure the assignment is closed, that there aren’t other Oni that we missed.”

Duro crossed his arms and gave Agron a flat look. “I will steal your knife and stab you if you ever say anything that stupid again.”

“What’s stupid about it? We have work to do.”

“You guys found time to start a relationship in the middle of the assignment. Why would closing it out make it suddenly impossible to make sure you don’t ruin it?” Duro’s eyes widened as he seemed to realize something. “Oh, you asshole!” Duro closed the few feet between them and kicked Agron in the shin.

“Fuck! What was that for?” Agron exclaimed as he hopped on the other leg away from his suddenly violent brother. Damn, that had hurt.

“You’re keeping your distance so an affinity doesn’t form between you while his seal isn’t active and keeping it from happening! Damn, that’s harsh!”

Sometimes Agron hated that his brother understood him so well. He already felt plenty guilty about that but he refused to have anything happen between him and Nasir that would get in the way of Nasir figuring out what he wanted to do about his core. It went against everything Agron wanted – he just wanted Nasir – but it wasn’t about him.

Agron was figuring out how to word that so Duro would understand but his brother turned away and grabbed his duffel off the bed and headed toward the door. “Don’t you dare try and rationalize doing that. Not only do you not deserve doing that to yourself but Nasir definitely doesn’t deserve it. Did you ever consider how much he put on the line opening up to you, becoming involved with you? What if how much he cared about you meant he stopped wanting to be sealed so he could have an affinity with you just for a second? Remember, all it took for that seal to fail was for him to not be completely convinced he didn’t want to be a user.”

“Of course I’ve thought about that. Why do you think I don’t want to risk an affinity taking hold now? He needs to be able to choose what is best for himself and not have to worry about me.”

Duro opened the door as he threw over his shoulder, “He worries about you. You aren’t going to change that by not having an affinity. Fucking moron!”

A pair of nurses walking by shot Duro a cautious look at his exclamation but they didn’t dare try and say anything to him. Agron followed Duro out of the room and then through the building to the reception desk where Duro could check out. They didn’t say anything to each other until they were in the car and Agron was pulling out of the parking garage.

“When do we head back?” Duro asked.

“In the morning unless anyone finds anything that changes the status of the assignment. They should be finished tonight.”

“If we leave without you really talking to Nasir, I’m disowning you. Then stabbing you.”

“How did one night in the hospital make you so much more violent?” Agron deflected.

“Keep this up and I’ll give you a reason to spend a day in there and then you won’t need to ask.”

They drove back mostly in silence, nearly reaching the house when Duro spoke again. “Do we have any idea what we’re going to tell the Paladins? It’s not like we can just say I’ve decided to come off active duty with the organization. I’m on file as a user, registered as a Valkyrie.”

“You can thank Naevia and Stiles for this one. They found a decent number of cases where Wraiths managed to actually cause permanent damage to the connections between the person’s core and their body. The damage made it dangerous for the person to ever use their core again, every case meaning they had to be sealed for their own safety. We’re just going to use that. And Crassus being able to destroy cores is working even more in our favor for it to go over.”

“Well that’s easier than it should be,” Duro grumbled.

“Don’t tell them that. They spent all night searching for enough cases to deem it a believable enough cover. You’ll still be on file as a user but there’s nothing we can do about that without getting a lot of attention we don’t want to have to explain.”

Duro nodded acceptance and then asked, “You know the worst part?”

“What?”

Agron caught an exaggerated suffering look being directed toward him out of the corner of his eye. “I’m going to have to enter the job market. Don’t you get that working for the P.P.O. was just about the best thing ever because it meant I didn’t have to apply for jobs? But, no, I can’t even look at taking a desk job – ugh – for the organization cuz that would just be asking for someone to figure out that I don’t have a core anymore. And taking down Oni probably doesn’t have a lot of transferrable skills to other professions. This sucks!”

Agron smirked at his brother’s complaints. “Want me to see if we can get a t-shirt made that says ‘I worked for the Protection of the Paladins Organization taking down scourge Oni and all I got was this lousy t-shirt’?”

“Yes, I need that. Get right on that. I expect to have it available to wear to my first job interview.”

Agron laughed, feeling better now that he was talking to his brother, hearing that he was really okay and that he was still Duro. While he was certain Duro would go through some genuinely tough times dealing with his loss and there was likely trauma from the experience – and even Agron had his own struggle recovering from the lost affinity – it didn’t seem like he was faking it right now, putting on a show to make sure Agron didn’t worry.

And even if he was faking, he’d falter eventually and then Agron would be there to help him out.

They’d be alright.


	18. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agron's choice is made...

Agron was surprised Duro didn’t follow through on his threats to stab or otherwise maim him. Oh, he wasn’t happy with Agron and hadn’t hesitated to make that perfectly clear but he’d refrained from going any further than that. It was probably because Duro ultimately understood that Agron was working with certain limitations to his options and was really doing his best.

Because it had been six weeks since they’d left New York and Agron hadn’t gotten the chance to talk to Nasir before they had to report back to the P.P.O. and had barely texted with the other man in the time since they’d left.

But Agron hadn’t expected there to be absolutely no chance to talk to Nasir before their flight. They actually hadn’t even seen him that last day they were there, Spartacus stating that Nasir had his own investigating to do without any connection to the Devas and hadn’t even told Spartacus where he’d gone. And he hadn’t returned by the time they’d left.

Agron had tried to not be upset about that, had reasoned with himself countless times that Nasir had his own priorities that he had to see through even though he’d known when Agron was leaving and had gone anyway. Hell, if it wasn’t for how he would respond positively whenever Agron sent him a text, Agron would have believed Nasir had decided to reject him. But he always seemed happy to hear from the Paladin.

Agron just hated texting and felt awkward as hell figuring out what to type to send to Nasir. Then again, he just knew that he would be worse if he tried calling him, even if he knew for sure that was even an option for Nasir now or if his seal was active now so he was back to being unable to talk. Agron just struggled when it came to anything outside of his work and he was nervous as fuck about things going well when it came to Nasir.

And he’d honestly expected to not have had to stay away for six weeks. He’d been expecting a few weeks, maybe a month tops as he worked out leaving active duty for the P.P.O. but he’d been talked into helping out on a few more assignments before they lost him and that was what made it take so long. And even that he suspected to have been an attempt to get him to change his mind since the organization had already lost Duro. Sure, he felt bad about leaving but not enough to not go through with leaving. His priorities were elsewhere and he wasn’t going to back out now that he knew where he was supposed to be. So he left his contact information with a few of the Paladins and Valkyrie he was closer to, letting them know he wasn’t going to be removed completely from an enforcement role so they could still at least ask for his help if they needed it, finished off his reports and paperwork, and left active duty under the authority of the P.P.O.

Not like he could part ways with them completely because he would still have yearly evaluations and physicals he’d be required to undergo as a Paladin but he would no longer be considered for assignments directly from them.

He’d already used the access code Derek had given them and had entered all the required information and so was officially working with them in the efforts against Hajime. What he did beyond that would be up to Nasir.

And when he’d logged in, he’d noticed that there was a list of everyone who had accessed the file as well and become part of the task force. Spartacus, Naevia, Gannicus, and Nasir – logged as Talyn – had already logged in at some point. Agron figured Crixus would as well, and the absence of his name was possibly that he’d just been with Naevia when she’d accessed it.

“Have you told him you’re heading back?” Duro asked from the doorway to Agron’s room as the Paladin packed up his duffel bag.

“No and I asked Spartacus to keep it a secret. I want to surprise him,” Agron said, trying not to show that he was nervous as hell about showing back up suddenly in front of Nasir regardless of how much Spartacus had insisted that it would go fine and that Nasir wanted to see him.

“Just don’t surprise him too much or he might just draw blood.”

Agron waved his brother off. Duro was staying behind for now, waiting to see along with Agron what Nasir wanted to do. If things went well, they were both going to move to New York near Spartacus, Sura, and Nasir. Duro would look for work there while Agron stuck with Nasir. As far as he knew, Nasir was continuing his work with the Devas so Agron would likely end up applying for a consultant position at the least. He had the option of applying to be a full Deva but he was trying to not commit to anything in particular until he settled everything with Nasir.

At the same time, he was trying to stay focused on best-case-scenario results and not get worked up about the options of being rejected and then figuring out what the hell to do then.

“Tell everybody ‘hi’ for me,” Duro said as he turned and walked away, allowing Agron privacy so he could finish putting together enough clothes for a few days. Because regardless of what Nasir decided, he wanted to meet with everyone he’d gotten to know in the time he and Duro had been there before. It was important to him that he didn’t lose connection with these people. He remembered feeling soon after meeting Spartacus that it was something important and that feeling hadn’t changed. It had actually gotten stronger and he was intent on not ignoring his instincts on this.

He finished packing up his duffel and headed out for the airport for the short flight. He’d been tempted to just drive, there being no time crunch to get there this time around, but he’d decided against it simply because he knew he didn’t want to give himself that much time to have nothing to do but think. He didn’t do so well with personal shit when he had time to think. At least flying over meant that it was just about an hour waiting for the flight and only another hour or so in the air. Then it would be straight for Spartacus’ house and he could hopefully get some reprieve from his brain once he talked to Nasir.

And even that little amount of time with nothing but his thoughts was still enough to get reasonably anxious about the upcoming conversation and he had to stop off in a nearby park on the drive over to run one of the short trails to ease some of his building tension.

When he arrived at Spartacus’, leaving his duffel in the rental car, he had to take a minute and appreciate that they were back home, that the damage caused by the Oni was fixed and they could return to normalcy. Sure, the yard off to the side of the house where Agron had fought Nemetes was still a mess from the Titan’s use of his abilities but that wasn’t the house. He walked up to the door and knocked before his brain caught up and gave him any reason to hesitate or even back out of this and he waited for either Spartacus or Sura to answer the door. He knew that Nasir never answered the door even if no one else was home so he wasn’t worried about immediately having to face him.

The door opened soon after and he smiled to Sura, who gave him a happy smile of her own before she stepped outside and gave him a tight hug. He’d missed her.

“Agron, it’s wonderful to see you again,” she said warmly and he was so pleased to hear her speaking again. He hadn’t had the chance to say anything but a brief goodbye when he’d left since she had still been recovering from her injuries and he was happy to see her standing strong. “Spartacus mentioned that you were coming.” He noticed that she was talking in a low tone so she’d also been told that Nasir wasn’t supposed to know that he was there yet.

“Is he home?” Agron asked. He looked past Sura for both Spartacus as well as for either Nasir or Roma. He couldn’t hear the dog so it was possible that she was wherever one of the men were.

Sura smiled a little wider at him looking. “Spartacus is in his office and Nasir is up in his room. I’ll go get Spartacus so he can come talk to you.”

Agron nodded and he stepped away from the door, Sura moving back into the house. A short wait later and Spartacus stepped outside and closed the door behind him, then held out his hand for Agron to grasp tightly with a brief shake.

“I’m glad you returned,” Spartacus declared. “Is everything settled with the P.P.O.?”

“Yeah, I’m officially off active status for the organization. They just kept finding ‘one more assignment’ they needed me to assist with. I guess I didn’t really mind but it went on a little longer than I would have preferred. Duro’s getting antsy about being home. He’s ready to figure out what he wants to do for work.”

“Then he’s really healed up with no complications?”

Agron had given Spartacus the bare minimum in regards to updates about Duro. “He was healed up the next morning. Sure, he still has nightmares but even those don’t happen very often. I think he’s better off than I would be if our places were switched in this.”

“You never know what you’re really capable of until you need to step up.”

Agron nodded agreement and then lowered his voice even further. “And Nasir?”

Spartacus briefly glanced back toward the house and up toward the second floor. “He was tracking down the man who created the seal. That’s why he left. Apparently there was something in the files of the gym that gave him a clue as to where he was and Nasir said he had to follow it immediately so he could make sure the man moved on if he was still alive.”

“Was he?”

“Yes. There’s also been marks added to the seal.”

Agron felt a wave of disappointment at the implication. “Then the seal is active again?”

Spartacus crossed his arms and leaned against the door. “It’s not the same as before. He’s found a way to make sure the seal is exactly what he wants and needs it to be.”

“Meaning? Because that makes no fucking sense.”

He got a slight smile for that. “Nasir wants to be useful. He wants to be a resource for us to have available, especially after what we’ve learned about Hajime. But he also wants to make sure he doesn’t become a liability because of his disposition making himself or us targets for the Oni.”

“Because the easiest way to get to someone is usually through who they care about,” Agron mused and Spartacus nodded. "Then what did he have done.”

“Better you just talk to him about that one. All I know is what I’ve always known about Nasir: he is an amazing person. He is capable of more than people will ever give him credit for and I’m no exception.”

Agron thought about that for a few seconds, aware that he wasn’t going to get any more clarification out of Spartacus. The man believed in respecting people’s right to choose what they wanted others to know. He wanted to make sure that Agron learned what was going on with Nasir from Nasir.

Agron wasn’t surprised.

“Fine but could I at least have a heads up on if he’s talking or signing?”

He’d done what he could to continue practicing sign language, watching videos and often signing while he talked to people even though they didn’t understand the other language. He didn’t need them to understand, though. He just needed to practice so he was ready to communicate with Nasir however he needed.

“Signing.”

Then the seal was active and even if it was changed in some way, it didn’t make a difference to how it affected him. Nasir was mute again. Because Agron couldn’t imagine that Nasir would just not talk when he had the capability, especially when it was just them.

Agron had a thought that he debated actually putting to question for a few seconds before biting the bullet and just asking. “Do you wish he wasn’t?”

Spartacus observed him for a few seconds before he let out a sigh and shrugged. “For a few reasons. I wish he didn’t feel the need to hide. We live in a time when he shouldn’t have to hide part of who he is to be safe. He’s told his name to many people now but he still can’t go by it because his real name gives someone a connection to what his disposition is.”

“How so?”

“The one who had his Phoenix core before him was his brother. Someone killed his brother for the core but he was able to activate the ability to pass it on and it went to Nasir. Someone out there was able to find out Nasir’s brother was a Phoenix and as their mother was pregnant with Nasir at the time they went after him, it is possible that they could find out that Nasir is the one that ended up with the core. That is the reason Nasir ran away from the foster care system and was living on the streets.”

“Do you know what happened to his parents?”

“No, he’s never told me about that. I’m not sure he actually knows, though, not with how young he was when he went into the system. He only knows as much as he does about his brother because of his core and something about the ability being activated when it is passed on carrying some memory. When he returned from visiting the one who sealed him, Nasir told me a bit more about his core, abilities, and gaps of his history he’d never mentioned before. Apparently, it’s an aspect of how the core is passed on that the one who receives it sort of remembers what happened to the one who activated the ability before them. So, Nasir was able to know as soon as he could understand what he ‘remembered’ that he had to disappear and then remain anonymous. That meant making sure no family wanted to adopt him, changing homes as often as possible until he was placed in one where he could easily run away. Though I believe he feels guilty for what he had to do. He had to cause a lot of trouble for the families that had custody of him so that they didn’t want him.”

“He didn’t try to stab any of them, did he?” Agron asked, allowing a little levity to break through Spartacus’ growing somber mood. He didn’t need the Deva feeling bad on Nasir’s behalf for something that happened over a dozen years ago to people they didn’t even know.

Spartacus let out a short chuckle at that. “Not that I’m aware of. As far as I know, that’s been something just for me. Do you think you’ve procrastinated enough yet? He’ll be happy to see you at the very least. You guys will work out what to do next with no problem.”

“You need to stop collaborating with Duro right now. One brother is enough.”

“I’ve always been of the mind that there can never be enough people you consider family, especially if it is family you choose.”

Agron gave Spartacus a surprised look before he smiled at the man, seeing his point and accepting it. Maybe that was why he’d felt such a need to have these people around, because he’d already accepted on some level that he’d found family. And it fit, calling Spartacus “brother”. It wasn’t a replacement of Duro in the least as he felt like his connection with Spartacus was different than the bond he had with Duro. But he guessed not all “brothers” were alike and that was how it was supposed to be.

He stepped past Spartacus, patting the man’s shoulder on his way. Spartacus followed him inside and closed the door behind him but turned to go back to his office. Agron took a moment to look around, seeing if he could see any differences from the rebuild but it all looked as it did before. Sure, most of the damage had been to the office and master bedroom but he figured if they were going to change anything it would have been visible from where he was. He was somewhat relieved to see it looked the same. He’d liked this house, liked the feel of “home” it had and that wasn’t gone. It was still a home despite it being the setting for an attack and fight.

He removed his shoes and went upstairs, heading down the hall to Nasir’s door, which was cracked open enough for Roma to slip in and out. Agron moved close and peered inside of what he could see. About half of the bed was visible, enough that he could tell it was empty.

He knocked on the door twice and listened for any sign of movement within. From further inside, he heard two claps and he remembered that Nasir used that to indicate the person knocking could come in. He pushed the door open and stepped inside, shutting it all the way behind him.

He’d just turned back toward the room when he heard the patting of Roma’s paws on the carpet approaching him and he turned in time for her to come into view from around the slight corner that separated the door from the rest of the room. She took a quick sniff of his hand before she spun around happily once and then rubbed her snout and head along his hand before spinning again and repeating the action. He let her get away with that a few more times before he held his hand out of her range and waited for her to sit before petting her, risking kneeling down in front of her as he scratched along her head and down her neck. She fidgeted the whole time, happy with the attention but obviously wanting to show her own love in return while behaving.

Agron pet her for a while longer before he stood up and stepped around the small corner so he could see the rest of the room.

His mind went blank when his eyes landed on Nasir, who was standing in front of his closet only half-dressed, his torso bare as he was securing his belt around his waist. He finished and glanced over his shoulder toward Agron, then looked back toward his closet, and then froze for a few seconds before he spun around and stared at Agron.

Agron wanted to say something, but he’d never seen so much of Nasir’s body and he thought he couldn’t be blamed for being distracted. The smaller man was fit, his body more compact than Agron even as he had a solid build of muscles. He was well-proportioned and healthy and Agron just felt the urge to touch him. Because while Agron had _known_ all this, seeing it was a completely different matter. His eyes were also drawn between the seal on his left arm as well as the burn scar on his side that Agron had felt after the fight with the Oni. It was a thick line along his side, about an inch and a half thick at its widest point and then tapering to a point on Nasir’s front just below his left pec and barely around to his back. Agron realized he was more curious about that than he was about what Nasir had done to his seal. He actually had never really remembered the details of the already intricate seal to be able to say what was different than before and it looked like the whole thing had been touched up, the lines dark and clean.

He really needed to say something since Spartacus had clarified that Nasir wouldn’t be able to talk.

“Hey,” he began, his voice barely above a whisper and deep with the rush of emotions and attraction he’d been hit with.

Nasir blinked twice, obviously shaking off his shock to some degree. A determined expression crossed his face and then he was closing the distance between them, reaching up with both hands to cup Agron’s cheeks, and then stood up on the balls of his feet so he could press an insistent kiss to Agron’s lips. Agron didn’t hesitate in the least to return the kiss, his lips parting and Nasir’s tongue delved into his mouth and he chased it out to taste Nasir in return. His arms circled Nasir’s waist and overlapped at his lower back to pull Nasir’s body completely against him, standing up straight and lifting Nasir off the floor because of their difference in height. Nasir wrapped his right arm around Agron’s shoulders in response to the change in angle while leaving his left hand pressed to Agron’s cheek as they continued to kiss.

Agron hadn’t really realized what he was doing until he felt his arm press against the wall and he didn’t hesitate to relinquish his hold on the smaller man enough so that Nasir’s back was flat against the wall and Agron could run his hands along exposed skin.

How the fuck had Agron let this go for six fucking weeks?

It wasn’t just that he was attracted to Nasir, though there was absolutely no doubt that was a factor. He thought Nasir was gorgeous and he just always wanted to be close to him. But beyond that, he wanted Nasir to share those feelings. He wanted Nasir to choose him just like he’d chosen Nasir.

His fingers brushed against the raised skin at Nasir’s side and the smaller man parted their lips to gasp, revealing a sensitivity to the skin that Agron hadn’t expected. The parting did allow Agron to collect himself, though. He took in a deep breath filled with Nasir’s scent. He’d expected that and had wanted just another level of awareness of Nasir. Then he took in another breath, using this one to try and calm himself down just a little.

He needed four more breaths like that before he really felt like he could think again.

His forehead leaning against Nasir’s, Agron opened his eyes and waited until Nasir did the same, dark brown eyes filling his view. “I missed you and I love you,” he declared in a confident voice, making sure there was absolutely no doubt in Nasir’s mind that he meant it from the bottom of his heart and this wasn’t just following some rush.

Both Nasir’s arms wrapped tightly around Agron’s neck and he embraced him tightly. When he pulled away, he gave Agron another passionate kiss.

When they parted, Agron catching Nasir’s lip between his teeth briefly, the Paladin grinned and teased, “So do you need time to think about it or do you know if you feel the same?”

Nasir breathed a laugh and Agron’s heartbeat accelerated a little at hearing that sound again. It just hadn’t been the same to not hear that.

Agron pressed one more kiss to Nasir’s temple and then moved away, feeling the urge to move right back in immediately and ignoring it with effort. He dropped his fingers away from the scarring but then moved his hand toward the seal, feeling the familiar tingle against his skin of the power of the seal.

Something was different to the feel but it was so slight he couldn’t tell what it was. He’d work around to asking.

“I’m sorry for how long it took me to get back here. The P.P.O. was trying everything it could to keep me around,” he explained, signing what he could while he spoke, feeling so much more confident in his motions than he had the last time he and Nasir had signed with each other. He’d learned a lot in the span of a few days signing with Nasir and the decrease in focused work did slow him down but he still had made steady progress on his own.

He just hoped he hadn’t learned any signs wrong. He’d only realized after a few days of working on his own that while Nasir and Spartacus had learned the official American Sign Language, there were still dialects to the language, variations in signs determined on where in the country they were. It was usually an issue more with names or places but Agron was anxious about getting it right so that didn’t mean much to convincing himself he was alright.

Nasir gave him a smile as he shrugged and replied in sign.

_I understand. Duro has been texting me regularly._

“Of course he has,” Agron muttered and got another laugh from Nasir for it. “Did you settle what you needed to?”

Nasir became serious in an instant.

_Yes. I was right: he didn’t betray me. He had to give up the design for the seal to Hajime about two years ago but he was able to get away before he had to give more, such as my disposition._

“Spartacus said you had alterations done to the seal.”

Nasir gave him a slight nod.

“Did it change it so it won’t stop working if you don’t want to be sealed?”

_It’s the opposite. I have an old core and my disposition requires extreme mental discipline to control any ability. Just because I’m sealed doesn’t mean I am any less capable of using my core._

Agron gave him a slight smile and stated in complete honesty, “The thought never crossed my mind that it was any different.”

He enjoyed the slight dusting of a blush to Nasir’s cheeks as he continued signing.

_I can be completely convinced I want to be sealed for the rest of my life one moment, truly want to have full access to my core the next, and then recover my conviction to be sealed once I’ve accomplished what I wanted._

Nasir held out his left arm and reached across with his right to trace his finger along a few of the lines just below the curve of his shoulder.

_These additions make the seal more sensitive to that. Because after I deactivated it to save Duro, it took a lot of focused work to make it activate again, even when my core was in place._

Agron reached out and ran his fingers over the same lines as Nasir had, ignoring the tingle of power.

But then he paid attention to it again because he had a thought that made he realize what was different about what he was feeling: it was closer to the feel of a core rather than a seal. It wasn’t exactly the feel of a core and Agron took a few seconds to hash it all out in his mind.

“I feel your core more now. It used to just be the seal but now I can recognize the difference between the seal and the core.”

Nasir took hold of Agron’s hand and then pressed his fingers over another spiral of lines in the center of his bicep before letting go again so he could sign.

_That’s the other addition. When I was healing Duro, my core was already reaching for you, like it knew it had limited time to connect us._

Agron wasn’t an idiot and he knew that his own core would have been doing the same thing. “Connecting like for an affinity?” Likely the only reason Agron’s core hadn’t been more active in sending out discharge to Nasir’s exposed core that would be the first connections of an affinity was because of the lost affinity with his brother it had been suffering from.

Nasir nodded.

_This mark is filled with my core power. It only works because of my core. With this addition, the power fueling it will be allowed to reach out and to accept anything reaching back. I can form affinities even while sealed and one has already started taking hold between Spartacus and I._

Agron had wrapped his arms around Nasir before he knew he’d pulled him close again.

As a Paladin, affinities were very important to Agron. His core wanted to be connected to others, wanted that little extra assurance that the people he cared about were safe because he was even more sensitive to feeling if they weren’t. Paladins tended to form strong, stable affinity connections quickly.

But that was his core. Agron himself had only formed affinities with his family. He hadn’t let himself get close enough to anyone else to allow an affinity to form. He didn’t regret that but he was ready to be in agreement with his core on the matter. He’d let himself connect with others here, become close enough to these people he had come to care about so much so that their cores could connect and be a representation of that bond.

Being careful to not get caught up in his excitement, Agron eased away from Nasir, the smaller man smiling up at him. Agron answered the urge to kiss Nasir again for that though he managed to keep it brief.

“Those are some good changes to make to the seal. It makes it, I don’t know…I guess less of a seal and more of a defense. Because Spartacus is right: you shouldn’t feel like you need to hide a part of who you are.”

Nasir gave a slight shrug, though his expression was more sad than it being a gesture of dismissal.

_He’s never liked that I felt I had to be sealed even before he knew my disposition. Then when he went to Oenomaus to ask if he could train me, I thought he was trying to find a way to convince me to change my mind. Eventually, I realized he was just doing what he could to help me survive my choices._

Agron saw an opening and he didn’t care if he was reaching just to satisfy his curiosity. “Did that have anything to do with it?” he asked with a gesture toward Nasir’s still-exposed side.

Nasir’s hand brushed against the scar absently.

_In a way. This happened after I met Spartacus. I was attacked by another homeless person. I was stabbed, the injury fatal. The only damage a Phoenix core can affect on its user is a fatal injury and the seal allows that ability because it’s completely internal. But I still burned and had no connections to a Regen to heal it. Spartacus saw me the next day and I hadn’t been able to clean up the blood. He started asking me to move in with him and Sura after that._

Agron reached out to run his fingers along the raised skin, Nasir’s breath catching at the contact. “Surprises me you actually accepted.”

Nasir replied with a smile.

_A few months later. I’ve never made things easy for him, enough that I’m surprised he kept trying, that he never just gave up._

Agron cupped Nasir’s cheek. “I’ve noticed that he gets pretty attached and tends to take looking after people he cares about very seriously.”

Nasir looked content as he replied simply.

_Yes he does. I owe him because of that._

“Not that he’d collect.”

Nasir shook his head with a smile.

Agron’s mood became more serious. While he was pretty sure he knew exactly what Nasir’s answer was, he really needed to have him clearly state his choice as far as they were concerned. "I do too. Take looking after people I care about seriously, I mean. And it’s not just because I’m a Paladin, though that helps. I just want to be with you if you’ll allow me. Duro has been the only thing that holds me down to any spot and he’s just as willing to head out here as I am. Is that something you’re okay with? Me and Duro coming here to stay? Not like moving in here but being close?”

He was starting to ramble and Nasir breathed out a laugh and reached up to cover Agron’s mouth with his fingers to interrupt. He then locked gaze with Agron and gave him a nod of agreement. He moved his hand to place another kiss on Agron’s lips, keeping it brief before he stepped away.

_I really want you to be here._

“Good. Though I haven’t decided if I’m going to put in for the Devas to work with you guys or not. Of course I’m going to stay involved with the pursuit of Hajime but I’m not sure I want to stay with one of the organizations.”

_You have time to decide. But from what I’ve seen of the files related to Hajime, it’s going to be difficult to track him down. He’s good at evading law enforcement and has been active in so many different locations._

“Well, at least I like a challenge. We took out his little battalion here. We’ll take care of him.”

Nasir lifted an eyebrow at him, giving him a slight smirk.

_Confident._

“Usually. Confidence is fine to have; it’s ego you gotta watch out for.” Nasir shook his head at him with a smile. “Anyway, then I’m here for a few days to figure things out for the long run, then I’ll head back to get my stuff and Duro’s all packed up, and then me and Duro will move this way. He’ll be happy to hear that’s what we’ll actually be doing rather than just talking about it. He liked that option as much as I did.”

_Hopefully for different reasons._

“Of course not. I thought you’d figured out he’s completely infatuated with you and this is some huge sibling rivalry thing we’re going to start at your expense.”

Nasir rolled his eyes as he turned to walk back toward his closet, picking out a shirt to pull on. He turned back toward Agron and signed as he approached.

_We should go tell Spartacus and Sura you’ll be moving this way. I’m sure they’ll be just as happy and may be able to help you find a place._

Agron nodded and then Nasir walked up to him and he draped his arm across Nasir’s shoulders, pressing a quick kiss to his temple as he settled into place at Agron’s side. Right where he belonged.

And this was where Agron belonged. What he decided to do professionally or about Hajime or any other Oni that decided to work for the guy, where he lived, all that was filler. The people he had, that was what was important and he would do everything in his power to make sure he did his part to protect them. And for the times he failed, he was starting to find a family that could fill in the gaps created by his weaknesses.

He thought this might be the first time he was able to see a future for himself and for his brother. And it was because of the family he had found in Spartacus and Nasir.

The Paladin core in him felt at ease for probably the first time in his life and he’d give it a chance to get used to that feeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's the last chapter for Burn of the Phoenix!  
> First and foremost, THANK YOU to everyone who read and enjoyed, whether you kept up with it throughout the posting or if you're finding it long after this gets posted. I will never not appreciate someone enjoying something I wrote. Thank you even more for those of you who gave me a kudo or commented. I had quite a few awesome commenters who were keeping up with updates and that feedback was fantastic to get even if I had already written the story. And I will always welcome comments giving feedback of what you thought, even constructive criticism because that's how I can grow as a writer.  
> I am far from done with this world. In addition to the planned stories that are following the overarching plot touched on in this fic with Hajime, I am wanting to also write additional stories within the world but that don't have to connect with the grand plot. If you have an idea of something you'd like to see, send it my way in a comment and I'll see what I can do with it.  
> Thank you again for reading and I look forward to giving your guys more Nagron goodness. I missed writing these guys and will happily write more.  
> Kira Dattei

**Author's Note:**

> Glossary of Core Dispositions (mostly in order of when they are mentioned throughout the story):  
> Paladin: enhances fighting instinct, stamina, strength, and recovery  
> Valkyrie: enhances baseline strength and reflexes while allowing bursts of further increases to these aspects when the core is accessed  
> Berserker: core enhances strength, stamina, reflexes, senses, and recuperative aspects of the body for a limited amount of time  
> Nova: affects density in the air or in objects  
> Aura: concentrates power to a single point that then expands quickly into a blast  
> Dragon: controls an element through physical contact with that element. Secondary designations are given to specific elements  
> Wendigo: draws core strength from other cores and uses it to enhance user’s physical strength and reflexes  
> Seer: can see other cores and identify dispositions  
> Projector: uses physical contact to plant visual and auditory hallucinations  
> Reader: allows the perception of thought processes of others  
> Warp: allows instant travel from one place to another  
> Elemental: controls and element through physiological motions. Secondary designations are given to different elements  
> Titan: controls earth  
> Spectre: allows influence of thoughts and emotions of others through their core discharge  
> Telepath: allows the user to communicate through thoughts with others  
> Siren: affects the perception of others through speech  
> Esper: moves objects, requiring physiological motions  
> Shade: creates a “mark” on other users that causes bruising around where their cores are located and can be tracked  
> Wraith: uses physical contact to disrupt the connections between others and their cores  
> Qilin: creates barriers and shields  
> Djinn: affects subconscious thoughts and perceptions of others through physical contact  
> Regen: accelerates healing  
> Plague: uses physical contact to influence and affect the body’s functions, especially the immune and nervous system  
> Leviathan: controls water  
> Sidhe: controls wind  
> Efreet: controls fire  
> Ouroboros: can transfer a core from one person to another  
> Shifter: user can modify their body’s structure to take on characteristics of an animal species. Core can form in utero and affects the abilities of the user  
> Beholder: allows user to perceive past events and possibilities for the future  
> Glyph: uses drawn symbols to channel their core’s power into what they want to use it for  
> Phoenix: reverses any damage done to the body of another


End file.
